T Minus One Year
by Rhino7
Summary: A lot can happen in 52 weeks. Follow one year in the lives of the Restoration Committee. Lead-in to future story. Pairings: Lefa, Clerith, some CidxBeverly and JakexMcCallister, possible later YuffiexOc. Alliance-verse.
1. Prologue

**T-Minus One Year**

**By Rhino7**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as is McCallister.**

**Hark! School has given me my soul back, and I am back on track with my Allied-verse stories! As of now, I am focusing 80 percent of my writing efforts on the finale to my Kingdom Hearts stories. Not saying that it will be my last KH story, only that it will be the big huzzah to wrap up my Alliance universe. **_**T-Minus One Year**_** will be exactly what it sounds like: the countdown to the beginning of the finale.**

**Anyway, this story itself will be comprised of short ditties; each chapter will represent one week in the lives of the Restoration Committee members for one year. This story, obviously, will fall right in line with my Allied-verse works up to this point, though they should be easy enough to follow if you haven't read any of my stuff before.**

**There is an overarching plot to these ditties, and most of them will be self-driven. However, if you have a burning desire to see a specific scene or have a prompt, I am open to it. If your request doesn't quite fit the plot of this story, I will try to still write it, but will post it under my request-driven story **_**What it Takes to Come Alive**_**.**

**Okay, enough of my prattling on. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**001 – Reawaken Cetra**

The old chapel inside the ruins of the castle had always granted Aerith a level of calm that nowhere else in Radiant Garden did. It was a grimy, dusty, derelict chamber: parts of the ceiling had caved in and you could barely take a step without rustling up some of the dust that had collected there, but it was quiet and no one else ever went there. So Aerith had made the place her personal haunt for whenever she wanted to practice.

Sure, the Alliance had an entire facility specifically designed for them. Firearms, physical combat, magic, weight lifting, the works: but it was always so busy. Considering the brand of magic that she had been tampering with for the past few weeks, it probably wouldn't have been wise to whip that out in front of 50 some-odd soldiers. Honestly, Merlin was the only other person that she had told about what she was doing. While he hadn't been outright supportive of the idea, he had definitely been interested. He had never tried to dissuade her either.

So here she was.

Aerith took her usual spot in the middle of the concrete room, equidistant from the dark walls, standing half in the shadows, half in one of the small columns of light that dropped through the holes in the ceiling. Due to spending most of her teenage years around the war and fighting the Heartless, around Cid and Leon and Yuffie, she had come across the skills necessary to keep herself alive and protect those she cared about. Cid had taught her how to fly a ship. Leon had taught her how to shoot a gun. Yuffie had taught her how to track someone down when that person was trying to hide from you: even if Yuffie had taught her that unintentionally. Also unintentionally, her relationship with Cloud was teaching her patience. And Merlin had been teaching her magic.

Not this particular brand of magic…she was discovering this on her own.

After untying her boots, she kicked them off and let her bare feet adjust to the cool, dusty surface of the floor. She closed her eyes and inhaled. The air smelled metallic and old. She rolled her shoulders, loosening her muscles and listening to her heart beat in her ears. Merlin had told her that magic was rooted in the fabric of the universe: every atom in their bodies, in the ground, in the air, contributed to a successful spell. That was what caused the tingle in the air after a Thunder Spell and the warm sizzle on the ground after a Fire Spell. The science of magic, he called it.

Because of this, she had hypothesized that there had to be some kind of collective undercurrent that kept the gears of the universe running. After all, if this war against the darkness had taught the Restoration Committee anything, it was that chaos was not the currency of the realm. There had to be a structure, some kind of organized circuit that kept everything running. Darkness was anarchy. Light was a bureaucracy. That was Cid's interpretation anyway.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she flexed her fingers at her side, breathing slowly and deliberately. She had felt it before; it's what had caused her to develop the undercurrent theory. So…if there was an undercurrent to all magic, all living beings, Kingdom Hearts, what have you…then wasn't it possible to directly channel that undercurrent?

The purest form of that collective was evident in her work with Cure Spells. After all, that was just magic essence being used to accelerate the human body's healing process. With this thought, she had decided to try and summon that undercurrent, that essence, and use it…bend it to her will, so to speak.

Clearing her mind, she focused on the coolness of the floor against her feet. She swallowed and pushed all of her concentration on that floor, on the grain of the concrete under her toes and the aged mortar that was all but crumbling between the bricks. If what Merlin said was true—that there was energy connected through everything—then she should be able to feel the magic in these bricks. She inhaled and exhaled again, her mind clawing through the dark nothing of the concrete to try and detect the presence of that energy.

There. Out of the corner of her thoughts, she could feel it. Maybe. Yes. That was…that was it! Relief seized her joints and she fought to hold onto it. She clenched her jaw and pulled at that energy with her mind. It felt similar to that of summoning actual magic: conjuring fire with your mind, instead of moving your arms, creating a gust of wind with your thoughts, instead of swinging a weapon around your body. Magic wasn't in the motions or the incantations…they just helped really.

Well, she could use the help here. Keeping her feet planted, she uncurled the fist of her right hand and extended her fingers. She curled them toward her palm and extended them again, repeating this process, as though to coax that energy out of the ground. Feeling it growing, she slowly lifted her hand in an arc in front of her body, urging the energy to manifest. Her eyes were still closed, but she could see it with her heart: a wisp of some translucent essence escaping the ground, climbing up toward her open palm.

Feeling herself starting to sweat, she peeked open one eye to check her progress.

The concrete four feet under her palm was glowing slightly, some undecipherable color. There was a pale spiral of green curling out of the floor and toward her hand. It moved like water but also looked like smoke, it was impossible to tell. Her head was starting to pound with the effort and she faltered.

The little green stream of life essence shuddered with her weakness.

"What are you doing?"

Cloud's voice cutting through the old chapel broke her concentration. The wisp of energy imploded and mushroomed around her feet in a short flash of light, and she and Cloud both covered their eyes in surprise. The grimy scent in the air was immediately replaced by the smell of fresh cut grass.

Blinking quickly to clear her vision, she looked down and saw that the dirty concrete floor had burst into a block of green: grass and white lilies sprinkled across the chamber's floor. Non-plussed, she felt the grass under her bare feet and looked at her palm. What had she just done? This was…this was incredible. Pure magical energy.

Cloud's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Aerith…What was that?"

Aerith's shocked expression quickly transfigured into one of excitement. "It's real."

"What?" He canted his head, still bewildered at the unexplained appearance of a flower garden in the old castle chapel. "What's real?"

"It's real!" She did a little hop of joy. "I knew it!"

**..:-X-:..**

**002 – Not According to Plan**

The 30 seconds of silence that hung between them seemed to last for hours. Tifa was nibbling on her fingernail, one arm folded as she stood in front of the sink. Leon could feel her staring at him, where he was sitting on the edge of their bed, where he had landed there in shock. For those thirty seconds, it felt like every emotion was crashing through his body and making his heart pound, but his brain was completely numb.

The light of the bathroom was spilling out into the dimly lit bedroom of their house. It was early evening, and the pinks and oranges of Radiant Garden's skyline were pouring through the open window. The sound of people going about their lives drifted in from the outside, but at the moment, nothing else mattered. The second floor of their house was in its own little bubble.

Maybe he'd misheard.

"Huh?" He grunted, making eye contact with her finally.

Tifa removed her fingernail from between her teeth, facing him. "I…I should have…I noticed nearly three weeks ago, but…We were all under so much stress at the time…that…I don't know." She gave a shrug that seemed to jerk through her shoulders. "I guess I figured…that's why…"

Leon just continued to gawk at her. It was all he could do. This…This hadn't been a part of the plan. Not yet anyway. There was still so much going on…Like, you know, that whole WAR thing. They were both really busy with missions and battles…They had barely been married for two months. His knee had hardly healed from the surgery after it had been messed up during his mission to Jamestown. He was still in physical therapy for it, for Pete's sake.

"But you've been taking the—" He started.

"I know." She closed her eyes.

"And we always—"

"I know." She lifted a hand to her forehead, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger. "These…things…just happen sometimes."

The shock was starting to wear off, because his skin was starting to tingle. He shifted slightly to remind himself to breathe.

"And you're…sure? Like…sure-sure?" He said hoarsely.

Tifa rubbed her neck and looked at him, then looked down into the sink, and then back to him. "Five out of five. I'm pretty sure." She pursed her lips.

Leon ran a hand through his hair and pushed himself up to his feet. He still had to keep most of his weight on his left leg. His right knee was strong enough now that he didn't need crutches anymore, but he still walked with a noticeable limp and tried not to keep his weight on that leg. But that old familiar pain didn't even register in his head at the moment.

Tifa looked scared.

Hell, Leon felt scared, and that simple acknowledgement of the fact made his heart hammer even harder between his ribs. He just stared at her for a long moment, trying to process, trying to put together some string of words into an intelligible sentence.

Tifa shifted from foot to foot, holding her arms about herself.

"So…now what?" She asked.

Well, the answer to that was obvious.

In four steps, two steady and two limped, Leon crossed over to where she was. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. Some noise between an exhale and a choke escaped him. Tifa returned the embrace and he could feel her trembling. He raised a hand and cupped the back of her head, a smile plastering itself across his face.

"I love you." He spoke into her hair.

She let out a choked laugh. "This so wasn't part of the plan."

Leon opened his eyes, looking down into the bowl of the sink. Not one, not two, but five of the little stick-like devices were lying in the sink, the evidence beaming up at him. These weren't the kind that showed signs positive or negative. Tifa had bought the kind that told you in no unclear words, and all of five of them were telling them the same thing.

Pregnant.

He pulled back to look at Tifa. She looked startled at first at his smile, but then she started to return the smile. He kissed her lips and held her. She kissed him back and laughed once. The tension in her body broke slightly.

"This is great." He finally said, feeling like he'd swallowed a firework.

"Really?" Tears glinted in her eyes but weren't breaking free yet.

Had she been expecting any other reaction out of him? Maybe, like him, she hadn't quite grasped the truth yet. As he looked into her eyes, though, he could almost see it dawning on her. They were going to have a baby. There was nearly fifty munny's worth of proof in the sink to prove it.

"W-we're pregnant." She exhaled in a rush.

He nodded, dumb smile still in control, and scooped her up again, spinning her in a little circle out of the bathroom. She held onto him, laughing in happy earnest now. True, they had hardly talked seriously about having kids before, but now he couldn't contain the sudden joy.

"We're going to be parents." He said, just to say it out loud.

She squealed and jumped on him. "I love you so much." She kissed him again.

He kissed her back and trailed his hand down her neck to her flat stomach. Parents. It was fantastically terrifying. All of the excitement was too much for his recovering knee and he slumped back onto the bed. Tifa kept her arms around his neck and ended up landing on top of him, still giggling with the high of the news.

"Are you okay?" She practically cackled.

"I'm…great." He grinned up at her. "I'm…" He sat up and just kept kissing her.

**..:-X-:..**

**003 – Awkward Chicken**

"Hm, looks like some dark energy popped up in Land of Dragons." Cid read off the streaming information on the computer monitor.

"Dibs." Yuffie claimed from her crouched position on the coffee table of Merlin's house.

Cid squinted at the screen. "Actually, Private McCallister has been assigned to recon that area."

"But, I called dibs." The ninja chirped, poking the body on the couch with her boot.

McCallister grunted once but otherwise didn't stir. She had worked the overnight patrol shift for the past three days in a row. She deserved some sleep, Yuffie knew, but she couldn't help it. Yuffie had never seen the soldier sleep, eat, or do any other human activities—she was always running drills or doing target practice or saying 'yes, sir' whenever Leon was around. Besides, McCallister should have known better than to fall asleep at Merlin's house. That was just asking for it.

"Too bad." Cid grunted, scrolling through the list of data.

The Alliance had started running regular checks on the worlds throughout the galaxy, making sure no new Heartless attacks were threatening the worlds, offering assistance where it was needed, and generally keeping an eye on things. Thus far, they had only had to intervene in one or two cases. The individual armies at each of the worlds had proved plenty strong enough to handle themselves.

"Looks like it's time for the quarterly report on Traverse Town." Cid remarked.

Yuffie paused in her poking, waiting for the inevitable—

"Dibs." Cid added, pecking at a few buttons on the keyboard.

"Of course you do." Yuffie snickered, poking McCallister again.

After a beat, Cid swiveled in his chair to look at her grumpily. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You always call dibs on the Traverse Town gigs." She said mischievously, crossing her legs. "Just so you can go flirt with that bartender woman who runs the tavern."

Cid had a good poker face, but he answered too quickly. "Smart ass."

"So…are you two actually dating or just doing it?" Yuffie pressed, just because it made him awkward and she loved making things awkward.

"You're three seconds away from an Atlantica mission." He snapped.

She chuckled and didn't have mercy on him. Aerith wasn't there to scold her, anyway. "There's no way her bar has that good of alcohol to make you keep going back without getting something else."

Cid clicked out of the mission stream and stood. "That's it. You're on the next mission to Atlantica. Enjoy your shell-bra and tail fin."

Yuffie just beamed. "And you enjoy your tail too." She saluted him.

Cid rolled his eyes and tapped a cigarette out of his pack, holding it between his teeth as he lit a match. She laughed until she snorted at her little joke, when he sent her a dangerous look.

"I wouldn't laugh." He said lowly. "She's excellent between the sheets."

Yuffie choked on her laughter, her balance tipping her back so that she had to grab McCallister's knee to steady herself.

Cid puffed lightly on the cigarette. "She's pretty flexible too."

Yuffie coughed and caught her breath, "Huh-what?"

Cid, apparently, had had enough of her teasing and was staring to fire back.

"One time we did it on the bar counter…and there was this can of whipped cream…"

"Ew!" Yuffie covered her ears.

"…in the shower…ended up breaking her kitchen sink…"

"Shut up!"

"…and she does this little twist where she kicks her leg up…"

"OH GOD!" Yuffie jumped up and started for the door.

"That's what she said." Cid exhaled smoke.

Yuffie bolted through the front door and nearly trampled Merlin, who managed to barely jump out of the way. The ninja left a dust trail in her wake as she fled. Perplexed, Merlin stepped into his house to find Cid standing and smoking beside the computer and Private McCallister still asleep on the couch.

"Good gracious." Merlin adjusted his spectacles. "What in Kingdom Hearts did you do to that poor girl?"

"Gave her a taste of her own medicine." Cid snorted.

"You…put a whoopy cushion under her seat?" Merlin lifted an eyebrow.

"Nah. You know how she tries to be all cute and tease people about everything?"

"Tifa and her poor cooking skills. Cloud and his gravity-defying hair. Yes. What of it?" Merlin inquired.

"She tried to tease me about Beverly."

Merlin paled. "Please tell me you didn't—"

"It was less 'birds and the bees' than 'pizza delivery guy and scantily clad woman'." Cid continued to smoke.

"Oh for heaven's sake. You're like some vulgar monkey." Merlin grimaced.

"Look…just because I know how to please a woman…"

"Just go." Merlin waved him off.

Cid snorted and took his keys, heading for the Gummi Ship hangar.

That'll teach Yuffie to pick a fight in Awkward Chicken with the seasoned champion.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** Constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

**Preview for next week:**_ "I am the black panther of paintball."_


	2. Target Practice

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Jake and McCallister. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**004 – Duck in Cover**

"Today's drill is on evasive maneuvers." Cloud said, facing the new recruits.

There were roughly thirty of them: wide eyed greenhorns who had enlisted in Radiant Garden's Allied army. Because they were still in basic training, Cloud had been put in charge of grooming the new recruits, finding out what their specialties were, and sorting them into the right departments. For example, those good with weapons went to Leon's department, those skilled in hand-to-hand combat went to Tifa's department, the magically-inclined went to Merlin for combat training and Aerith for medical training, and Yuffie got the stealthy ones good for infiltration and the like, and Cid got the aeronauts and computer specialists.

He gestured to the obstacle course behind him. "The goal is to make it across this training field without getting hit. There are four sharpshooters from Commander Leonhart's department posted throughout the course, and their job is specifically to take you out."

A few of the recruits gulped.

"The shells are full of paint, but they'll still hurt like Hell, so don't get hit." He went on. "And once you're out, you're out; the paint is bright, so don't think you can hide it and cheat."

One of the recruits lifted a hand in question.

Cloud eyed him for a moment. "What."

"What does the last person standing get?" The recruit asked. "Is there some kind of reward for not getting hit?"

Cloud deadpanned, "The knowledge that in a battle simulation, you alone survived."

No wonder Private McCallister had sincerely opted out of handling the new recruits: these people were idiots.

"Any other questions?" Don't you dare.

"Hold up!" came a bellow from his far left.

One eye twitching, Cloud turned to see Jake Alms, resident annoyance and self declared ladies' man, marching toward him with a large duffle bag over his shoulder. Cloud inwardly groaned and looked back to the soldiers, hoping that maybe if he ignored him, Alms would go away. This was not the case.

"Jake Alms, reporting for duty." Alms gave a mock-salute.

"You're not even enlisted." Cloud said dryly. "I'm about to start a drill here."

"I know. I heard. You rounded up half of Leon's personal squad for paintball sniping and you forgot to invite me." Alms said, opening his bag to reveal his own custom paintball rifle.

Cloud pinched the skin between his eyes. "I didn't forget; it was completely intentional. Now please go away."

He didn't have time for Alms' nonsense. Didn't he have someone else to annoy? Leon was typically Jake's target to bother, or McCallister or Cid for that matter.

"Not acceptable." Jake stood, "I am the black panther of paintball." He said, dead serious. He looked from Cloud to the recruits, pointing two fingers at his own eyes before pointing them at the soldiers. "Where I go, I leave only paint-splattered bodies in my wake."

In seemingly one fluid motion, he tore off his jacket and pants to reveal a skin-tight, neck to boots, black outfit, fitted with black inlaid armor. He tugged on two belts of paint ammunition across his chest, fingerless gloves over his hands, and jammed a protective helmet over his head.

While Cloud—and most of the recruits—were gawking at this ridiculous display, Alms whipped out two paintball pistols, which he slid into the holsters at his sides, and lifted his main rifle over his head.

"Game on, bitches!" He said, slapping the visor down on his helmet.

Then he promptly darted into the obstacle course and disappeared into the camouflage.

For a long pause, Cloud just stared into the obstacle course. He wasn't sure if he should be pissed that Jake Alms had just elbowed his way into the drill and subsequently made a mockery of it, or if he should be impressed that after ten seconds, Cloud had absolutely no idea where the man had hidden himself.

Clearing his throat, Cloud finally faced the line of recruits again.

"On my mark." He raised a hand.

That got their attention again.

"Go." He dropped his hand.

The soldiers took off into the obstacle course.

At first, Cloud could detect some sign that they were strategically moving, taking cover, dashing here and there, covering their butts. Then the first barrage of paint-laced shots was launched from the hidden locations of the snipers, and all Hell broke loose.

Shots missed and shots hit. Splashes of bright yellow and red paint exploded on the obstacles set up on the field. They also burst across the bodies of the recruits, who yelped and then swore when they realized that they had been hit. They started to drop like flies, and any training that they'd had about stealth seemed to have gone out the window.

Well, it looked like Yuffie wasn't getting any soldiers from this particular clusterfuck.

Suddenly, instead of the normal 'phewt' noises of the paintball snipers, there were several large 'phlat's of a shotgun that splattered paint in large scattershots against the obstacles and some of the recruits. Alms.

"I am the black panther!"

_Phewt._

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?"

"You're an annoying git." One of the snipers called out, having fired one of his shots at the hidden Jake Alms. "Go home."

Cloud spotted Alms climbing out of a tree—how did he get that far without Cloud noticing?—yellow paint having nailed him in the chest.

**..:-X-:..**

**005 – Ready, Aim**

"Only put your finger on the trigger when you intend to fire. Never keep your finger around the trigger if you're just holding the gun." Private McCallister instructed.

Standing with her feet planted and the weapon in her hands, Rinoa Heartilly carefully moved her index finger straight along the barrel of the gun. "Right, sorry."

The private picked up another of the numerous guns that she had laid out. "This is a .45 Caliber semi-automatic." She picked up the loaded clip and slid it home, pulling back the hammer and removing the safety.

Rinoa removed the magazine from the gun in her own hands and set the two items down, looking at the new one. "Okay…" She watched McCallister reverse what she had just done, setting the .45 and the clip back on the table in front of the shooting range.

The soldier made a gesture that invited Rinoa to try it. She swallowed and picked up the weapon and the clip, repeating the process that McCallister had taught her when dealing with hand guns. She had encountered guns and other weapons in her time evading Heartless, sure, and she had fired one or two on occasion. But those had been life or death situations, and, looking back, it had been insanely reckless to handle a gun like that when she had no idea how to use it.

Although, technically, the weapons had saved her life.

But now that she was back home, in Radiant Garden, in the military epicenter of the Alliance, where soldiers toted weaponry around like a common newspaper and everyone appeared to be war-savvy, she figured it was high time to actually learn how to handle a weapon. And who better to teach her than Squ—Leon's right hand soldier, Tabaeus McCallister?

"Don't hold the trigger." McCallister corrected.

Rinoa started slightly and removed her index finger from the trigger area once again. It was an involuntary motion. Seeing the trigger clear, McCallister reached over and deftly swatted her wrist so that the gun was pointed down and away.

"It's loaded now. Don't point it at anything that you don't intend to destroy." She explained. "Even unloaded, no waving it around."

Rinoa bobbed her head, keeping the barrel of the .45 carefully averted from either of their persons. They were the only two in this particular shooting range that afternoon, for which she was grateful. Because Radiant Garden, what used to be her warm, peaceful home world, had been transfigured into this war machine, she felt almost embarrassed that she hadn't had gun training already. Fortunately, Private McCallister didn't expend too much energy in judging people, so Rinoa didn't worry about her too much.

"It'll be louder than the others." McCallister said, tugging her protective ear coverings back over her head. "Try it out."

Rinoa mimicked her and moved into the stance that the private had told her, lifting the gun and aiming at the paper target hanging down the long lane. Lining the paper target up in her sights, she slid her finger around the trigger. She pulled it back.

BOOM.

The recoil shuddered through her arms and the thunder crashed through her ear coverings. The kick of the gun bucked in her hands and she staggered once.

"That's why you lean slightly forward. Balance your weight out." The private was saying, swinging one finger in a circle. "Try a few more times."

Clearing her throat to calm her nerves, Rinoa resumed her stance, bracing for impact this time, took aim, and fired. Again, the recoil ran up her body and the report sounded like a freight train collision in her ears, but she didn't stagger back from the force of it this time.

Then again, the paper target was completely untouched on the far wall.

With a sigh, Rinoa disarmed the gun and set it down before tugging off her ear covers and letting them hang around her neck. The white, solid, unpunctured paper mocked her.

"Maybe I'll try my hand at shurikens instead." She said, disheartened.

"Nobody is a straight shot their first time." McCallister said, "But I think we're done for today."

Rinoa rubbed her ear with a grimace. The thundering reports of the past two hours of shooting had surely done permanent damage, despite the protective noise-cancelling headphones.

"I guess." She sighed.

McCallister paused, looking at her. "You'll get better. I can almost promise that. Shooting is…like sex."

Rinoa looked at her sharply, but the private just shrugged.

"Everybody is terrible the first time, but with practice, you'll start nailing 'em."

Rinoa gawked.

McCallister pointed a thumb toward the paper target. "The targets, I mean." She waved a hand. "Don't be gross."

"YOU're the one who made the metaphor—"

"Technically it's a simile."

Rinoa snorted at her before pausing. "So…Will I ever learn the 'kill shot'?" She mimicked with her hand. "You know, one hand, sideways, gangsta-style?"

McCallister deadpanned.

"Ooh, what about that thing from that movie…Where they bend the path of the bullets?"

"…"

"I know, it's not real…But that would be AWESOME."

"Seriously, I'm trying to teach you gun safety and you want to start assassinating?"

Rinoa lifted her shoulders as they left the shooting range. "If it works for you…"

"I'm a weapons specialist, not an assassin. And it's taken me years—"

"I know, I know. Hey, how about next week you teach me how to throw a grenade?"

"…Let's stick with bullets for now…Maybe just dart guns, actually…"

**..:-X-:..**

**006 – In a Heartbeat**

Tifa had had her suspicions, and the tests didn't leave much room for doubt, but just hearing it directly from the doctor's mouth seemed to drill it home and make it real.

"Congratulations." Dr. Polly Kim smiled as she closed the file of test results. "It looks like you are approximately six weeks along."

Tifa exhaled in a rush, where she was sitting uncomfortably on the exam table, twisting her fingers. Standing beside her, Leon looked like a deer in the headlights. Dr. Kim didn't look surprised at their dumbfoundedness; she had probably experienced the gamut of reactions from couples being told that they were going to be parents.

"How have you been feeling?" Dr. Kim asked.

Tifa blinked, "Um…f-fine." She rubbed her neck.

"No aches or pains? Nausea or migraines?" Dr. Kim went on.

Tifa shook her head. "No, uh…not any more than usual." She looked sharply at the woman. "Why? How should I be feeling?"

Dr. Kim smiled gently. "All of your tests look great, and you sound like you're in perfect health." She set the file down. "All right. Now, if you'll lie back, we can take an ultrasound and you can see your baby."

Tifa inhaled and Leon straightened visibly.

"S-see?" He blurted. "But…at just six—"

"—shouldn't the baby look like a…peanut or something?" Tifa asked.

Dr. Kim chuckled. "Sometimes there is a detectable heartbeat at six weeks." She tilted her head, "But, yes, he or she will probably look like a peanut."

As the doctor started fiddling with the ultrasound machine, Tifa reclined back on the table, looking uneasily to Leon. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her so that he was at her eye level. The night that Tifa told him, they had spent hours talking about this whole situation. Neither of them had been planning on having kids so soon.

"Lift your shirt a little. This might be cold." Dr. Kim said, opening a tube of contact gel for the machine.

Tifa did so without thinking. Were they ready to be parents? Neither she nor Leon had had time to get a full night's sleep in the past month. How were they supposed to take care of a baby twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? They were both high ranking officers in the Alliance, running dual departments, operating dangerous missions, and carried a lot of weight in the Alliance and Restoration Committee.

Dr. Kim squirted a line of the gel on Tifa's stomach and she started slightly, being too wrapped up in her thoughts to realize it was coming. Leon must have noticed her jump, because he reached over and nudged her elbow with his thumb. She looked over at him. The bewilderment must have been obvious on her face, because he offered her a wink and a small reassuring smile.

Well, sure, he could be as calm about this as possible. There wasn't a human being growing inside of him!

Dr. Kim pressed the wand of the machine into the gel on Tifa's stomach, tilting it and moving it around. The monitor on the machine flipped on and displayed a mess of gray, black, and what looked like static. Tifa stared at it frantically. Was she supposed to be seeing something? She couldn't see anything in that mess!

"There we are." The doctor said, holding the wand against Tifa's stomach with one hand and gesturing to the monitor with the other. "See that bit right there?"

Tifa was tempted to sit up and squint at the screen, but she restrained herself. She could…sort of see what Dr. Kim was indicating…if she squinted one eye and didn't focus too hard on it…

"That's your baby." The doctor chirped.

Tifa's heart skipped, and then it stopped completely when Dr. Kim did something to the machine and a new sound came out of the speakers. A tiny heart beat.

Leon's hand had seized hers, and if Tifa could have torn her eyes away from the monitor to look at him, she was sure his face would have looked how she felt inside.

"That's our little peanut." He murmured.

Suddenly, all of that anxiety and doubt about whether they could do this melted away from the warmth that burst into existence in her chest. She smiled and stared at that little blob on the staticked screen. A new fear bubbled up inside her.

"We're going to have to childproof our new house." She involuntarily said.

Dr. Kim chuckled at that, pushing her swiveling chair to the side to pick up her clipboard. "I have a few articles and books that I generally recommend for first-time parents to read, if you're interested." She explained. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions and concerns. Most of the changes that your body will be experiencing will be normal, but I firmly believe in the policy of 'there is no stupid question'."

"Thank you." Leon stated, since Tifa was still too hypnotized by the monitor to do so.

The doctor bobbed her head and continued. "If you haven't already, don't be alarmed if you start having mood swings, morning sickness, going to the bathroom frequently, or nausea. These are the most common symptoms that women experience, but don't panic if you don't. Consider yourself blessed." She smiled.

Tifa snapped back to herself as Dr. Kim was putting away the ultrasound equipment. She was handed tissues to wipe the gel from her stomach, and she did so while Leon perused the recommended list that Dr. Kim had handed him.

"So." Tifa tugged her shirt back down. "How are we going to break this to the others?"

Leon carefully folded the list and looked at her playfully. "Oh, I don't know about that. Something good. Maybe you could just walk in and refuse alcohol. That'll get their attention."

Tifa snorted and smacked his arm. "Oh, I've got a better one. Guaranteed to get their attention and gross them out at the same time…I've been craving ice cream and pickles all day."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"You love sunny days like this, so why are you shut up in this old Jeep?"_


	3. Breaking the News

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Beverly and Yvonne. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**007 – Reaction Shot**

The old office of Ansem the Wise was a mess of fragile texts, old dust, and short tempers.

"Be careful with those!" Merlin scolded, "Most of those books are older than your parents!"

Awkwardly balancing two boxes of the books in his arms, Cloud glared over at the old sorcerer. "I am being careful."

After weeks of just talking about it, Merlin had finally gotten around to organizing the project of cleaning up the old office affixed to the Postern. He had managed to rope Cloud and Yuffie into helping him, neither entirely willingly. While the office itself could boast its fair share of loaded file cabinets and book shelves, it turned out that there was another entire room annexed to the office that was nothing but shelves upon shelves of leather-bound books. Half of them had pages practically falling out of them, and the other half was so faded that Yuffie hardly saw the sense in salvaging them. But Merlin was fickle about his books, and he had spent nothing less than the past three hours lecturing them about it.

So now here they were, on a picture perfect Saturday afternoon, choking on dust and trying to read the faded titles of the crumbling texts.

"Are any of them older than you?" Yuffie jibed at the wizard.

Merlin huffed at her and Cloud snickered.

"Y'know, because you're really old." Yuffie pressed.

Cloud set the stack of books down. "Yeah, we got it."

"Got what?" Tifa greeted as she walked into the office. She almost immediately recoiled, waving at the air around her face. "Geez, it's stuffy in here."

"Yeah, we got that too." Yuffie said, hands on her hips and looking sideways at Cloud, who was looking at Tifa with a single narrowed eye. "What?" She asked.

"Hm?" Merlin followed Yuffie's gaze to Cloud and then to Tifa.

Tifa narrowed one eye at Cloud. "What?"

"What's with you?" Cloud asked.

"Huh?" Yuffie canted her head.

"Not you. Tifa." Cloud gestured to Tifa, as though to make a point.

"I don't see what you mean." Merlin said. "Are you all right, dear?" He asked Tifa.

Tifa folded one arm, propping her elbow over that arm and touching her cheek. "I'm great." She smiled a coy little smile.

"Why are you being weird?" Yuffie looked at her.

"Am I being weird?" Tifa pressed.

"Hell'a weird." The ninja stressed.

"How is organizing going?" Tifa abruptly changed the subject, crossing over to Merlin's meticulously stacked towers of texts.

"Slow." Merlin rolled up his sleeves. "You young people have no appreciation for the wisdom of your elders."

Tifa appeared to be the only one listening to him. Yuffie and Cloud were still looking at Tifa, trying to figure out why she seemed different. Well, Cloud was trying to figure it out. Yuffie was more wondering how Cloud had picked up on the change before her amazing ninja senses had.

"Care to join us?" Merlin offered.

"Thanks, but I've got a lot of stuff to do." Tifa said, almost teasingly.

Cloud seemed to take up the challenge. "Like what?"

Tifa looked at him playfully and he frowned.

Yuffie looked between them, getting frustrated. Why did it feel like she was being left out of an entire conversation with these two? She shouldn't have been surprised. Since Tifa and Cloud had started mending the bridge between them, their old friendship quirks had started coming back…like the eye-conversations.

"Like…Hey, where's Cid?" Tifa changed again.

Merlin adjusted his spectacles. "Quarterly update mission to Traverse Town."

"Like what?" Yuffie pushed, elbowing her way back into the conversation.

"Like trying to find a way to break some news to you guys." Tifa finally gave a little.

"News about what?"

"Is everything all right?"

"What did Leon do this time?"

For some reason, the last comment made Tifa laugh.

"Did I miss something?" Merlin glanced around the office.

"Okay, okay, okay." Tifa lifted both hands in surrender. "Sorry, I wanted to tell you guys in some cool, creative way…but my brain is pretty fried right now so I'll just tell you straight."

"Please do." Yuffie hmphed, and Cloud just folded his arms.

Tifa drew a breath, looking at them evenly. "I'm pregnant."

A beat passed.

Then Yuffie had pounced on her. "THAT'S AWESOME!"

Merlin crossed over to her too. "Congratulations, my dear. When did you find out?"

"Last week." Tifa beamed like she'd swallowed the sun.

"And you waited THIS LONG to tell us?" Yuffie planted her hands on her hips in a mock-pout.

Tifa snorted and then tilted her head at Cloud, who had sunk to the floor in a dead faint.

**..:-X-:..**

**008 – I Love This Bar**

Traverse Town was a hodge-podge of a world. Well, less of a world and more of a glorified asteroid, in Cid's opinion. What had started as a compilation of haphazard buildings and refugee tents had, over the years, morphed into a complex catacomb of additions built onto existing buildings. It was an architect's nightmare, but it was home to roughly 800 people across five districts, since two additional residential districts had been incorporated. The first district was more of a welcome center. The second district consisted of commercial zones and shops, including the hotel where Cid and the others on the Restoration Committee had spent several years before returning to Radiant Garden. The third district was a courtyard-like area.

After docking his Gummi outside the world entrance, Cid ducked out of the port and into the First District. Sure, this assignment that he had taken was just the quarterly patrol that the Alliance had established for keeping tabs on the worlds under the Alliance's umbrella, but that would only take all of four hours, and he had a time budget that covered the whole weekend.

Which meant that he had plenty of time to swing by the tavern.

A few bars had popped up in Traverse Town over the past decade, but the granddaddy of them was the old tavern by the accessory shop in the first district. It was small, crowded, always full of smoke, and usually smelled like spilled beer and peanuts, but it was Cid's favorite place to stop by for a pint. That was in no small part because of Beverly.

Walking into the tavern, Cid immediately came face to face with a cloud of tobacco smoke. He closed his eyes and breathed in that sweet aroma, slightly mixed with the smell of strong whiskey. The sound of pool being shot and gruff voices carrying on conversation reached him, and Cid merrily lit himself a fresh cigarette.

Smoking in a Gummi was too dangerous, and Merlin was such a barmy old codger about smoking, that just the simple act of smoking in public and not giving a shit about it was refreshing. He inhaled and relished the burn of the nicotine as it flooded his veins. He shouldered past a pencil-neck of a man who was drinking an appletini and reached the bar. A goofy-looking guy with greasy hair was lounging against the counter, obviously trying to talk smooth to the twenty-something year old pair of double D's who was working behind the bar. She gave the creep the smile that said 'I'm smiling to be polite but buzz off'.

Cid rolled his eyes and flagged the young woman down with a wave of the hand. She nodded at his signal and made a hasty escape from Mr. Greasy-Hair. A few others at the bar cat-called as she came down the way, and she flashed them the kind of teasing smile that caused nosebleeds. Reaching Cid, she propped her elbows on the counter, leaning forward in greeting, and taking the opportunity to show off her ample cleavage.

"Well, well, well. What can I do you for?" She beamed.

Cid narrowed one eye at her, leaned forward, and whispered. "You can't wear clothes like that and then get pissed when these poor bastards trip over themselves to get a piece, Yvonne."

The young woman tossed her bouncy too-red hair and laughed. "Oh, Cid, why do you keep teasing my poor little heart? When are we gonna run away together, huh?"

"I'm serious, kid. Half of those guys won't be able to stand up for the next twenty minutes thanks to that little show you just put on." He said, gesturing to the beer tap.

Yvonne gave a flirtatious roll of the eyes and obediently poured him a beer. "Fine, whatever. Look…um…what if—" She set the mug of beer on the counter. "Greasy McBig-Ears won't leave me alone. If he sees you grab my boob or something, he might bugger off. He couldn't bench press a broomstick; he won't pick a fight with you." She pleaded.

Cid snorted and took a drink of the beer. "No can do."

"Ah, c'mon, Cid." She nudged his elbow, "You'd be doing me a huge favor."

Cid tapped off the end of his cigarette, "No."

"Just grab my boob!" Yvonne begged.

A second female bartender elbowed up beside Yvonne just then. "Yvonne, you know a dignified pilot like Cid Evelyn Highwind would never mess with a woman's cookies before they're out of the oven."

The newcomer to their strange conversation could have been Yvonne's mother, age-wise. However, whereas Yvonne had bleached, perfectly aligned teeth and flowing red hair, the owner-manager of the tavern, Beverly, had flyaway brown hair peppered with gray, and a noticeable gap between her two front teeth.

Yvonne pouted, rolled her eyes, and begrudgingly went to tend to the other customers. Cid took another drink from his beer before setting it down.

"Not even close to my middle name, woman." He snickered.

"Yeah, whatever." Beverly poured a shot of tequila to a waiting customer to Cid's left. "So what tobacco-laced haze has blown you into my place this time?"

"Believe it or not, Alliance stuff." Cid said, puffing on his cigarette.

"That a fact?" Beverly canted her head, "What kind of Alliance stuff?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential information, citizen." He said pompously, tapping out his cigarette again.

She snorted. "Confidential my ass." She wiped down the bar. "You wind up at my place pretty much the same day every three months. Out with it, pilot; what's the verdict this time?"

Cid smirked around his cigarette. "Nothing to be worried about."

Catching sight of another customer, Beverly straightened, "All right. Well, you know the drill." She told Cid. "I get off work at closing time…If you wanted to stick around."

She winked and sauntered over to take the newcomer's order.

Cid finished his cigarette and put the butt of it out in the closest ash tray. Taking a drink from his beer, he made accidental eye contact with the monkey who'd been flirting with Yvonne. The young bartender looked the epitome of uncomfortable as she continued to reject his advances. She looked down the bar at Cid pleadingly. She was nearly half his age. The paternal protectiveness that crept up on him made him frown.

Maybe he needed to find another bar.

**..:-X-:..**

**009 – Find a Happy Place**

There was really no point in having a vehicle in Radiant Garden.

The more Aerith thought about it, the less sense it made. Radiant Garden was a growing world, and the districts were spread pretty far apart, but the streets had been designed for foot traffic, not automobiles. Therefore, it made little sense for Tifa and Leon to have this Jeep. Besides, the one and only time that Aerith had ever seen either of them drive it was when Tifa picked Leon up from the hangar after the Jamestown Campaign. Then, it had come in handy, since Leon's leg had been messed up and he could hardly walk at the time.

Since then, however, the Jeep had been parked in the public parking garage, wasting space. The only time people used the Jeep now was…as a hideout. Like she was at the moment.

Though the vehicle had been renovated and outfitted with new parts, it still retained that definitely-not-new car smell. Like rust and dust, it would probably never go away, but it wasn't overpowering anymore. The lemon-scented air freshener hanging on the rearview mirror was strong, mixing strangely with the pre-existing smell.

Aerith had opened the back hatch and left it open, folding the back seats down and climbing into the Jeep, looking out through the open back. There was a strange comforting atmosphere inside the car. At first only Leon and Tifa would come here when they were stressed out or wanted to be away from people. Then Yuffie, then Cid, then even Cloud had at some point sought solace in the confined car. Aerith herself had come to it a few times, but it was usually to have a quiet moment away from Yuffie's rambling or Cid and Merlin's bickering.

This was different. This time she was hiding.

But there was no hiding from this. She still had the letter in her hand. Well, it was the latest in a series of letters and e-mails that she had received over the past month. First the Alliance had cut funding to her department. Then they had cut her hours and pay. She could understand that—the war was affecting all of the departments, but still…this was so frustrating!

Now she was getting bills and she couldn't pay for them.

She looked at her palm. And, breaking ground in the most mysterious realm of magic or not, pure magic essence didn't print munny.

"Thinking or sulking?" Leon announced his presence, standing outside the Jeep.

Aerith started slightly, having not heard him walk up. "Hm? Sorry," She blushed, making to get out of the car. "I must have lost track of time—"

"It's okay." He shook his head, sliding up into the car beside her.

"You sound like you're in a good mood." Aerith lifted an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Should I not be?"

"Well…no…but you usually find a reason." She ribbed lightly.

It would do no good to rant about all of this to Leon. Leon was a fixer, a do-er, and an action man. And she just couldn't bring herself to dump her turmoil on him right now, when she still hadn't fully grasped the situation…and when he was clearly in a spirited mood. Seeing Leon happy wasn't as rare as it used to be, but it still wasn't something that she wanted to take for granted. So she held her tongue.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was still light, but quick to the point. "You love sunny days like this, so why are you shut up in this old Jeep?"

A swell of emotion clogged Aerith's throat for a moment and she looked away. She ran a hand through her hair to give her a moment to compose herself.

"I just…needed some peace and quiet." She lied terribly.

"Sorry I can't really give you that right now." He said, both concerned and smirking at the same time. "I need your opinion."

Aerith sat up straighter. Leon only asked for her opinion in two circumstances: how to apologize to Tifa for doing something boneheaded, and whether a certain combination of healing items had adverse health effects.

"Oh?" She prompted.

Leon nonchalantly reached into his jacket pocket and produced a piece of photo paper. In the shadowy light inside the Jeep, Aerith could hardly make out what the subject of the picture was: it looked like a jumbled mess of black and static to her.

"What do you think?" He asked, handing her the picture.

Aerith took it, utterly perplexed, and looked at it. Squinting, she thought it looked like…an ultrasound. The possibilities of that ballooned inside her head and her eyes widened. She looked back to Leon, who grinned back at her.

"Oh my God." She threw her arms around his neck. "Leon, are you serious?"

He just chuckled at her and Aerith detached herself from him, looking at the ultrasound picture again.

"When did…Is Tifa…How long…Oh!" She lifted a hand to her mouth, too much surprise and joy bubbling up in her to contain or articulate. "Why didn't you tell me that you two were trying to have a baby?"

"Because we weren't. We were just as surprised as you." Leon replied.

Aerith wiped at the sudden tears that had sprung to her eyes. "So…?"

"So," Leon repeated, looking at her evenly. "I've been nearly having an aneurism every day for the past week, since Tifa wanted to wait to tell everybody at once." He smiled, "I thought I was going to explode if I didn't tell someone soon. Tifa went to tell the others at Ansem's Office now."

Aerith fought the urge to jump on him again. "I'm so happy for you two! How far along is she?"

"About seven weeks." Leon looked giddy now, taking the picture and pointing. "Dr. Kim said we wouldn't be able to tell the gender yet…but I think if you squint right here, you can see…"

As Leon chattered on like an excitable child, Aerith smiled to herself, financial troubles momentarily forgotten, and instead enjoyed being bombarded with Leon's future-parent energy.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N 007 and 009:** It's always fun to see how someone breaks this kind of news to their friends and family, but sometimes just blurting it out is even more amusing. And I adore Papa!Leon; I always imagined that it would take the smallest of nudges to turn him into a big fatherly mess of a man XD

**A/N 008:** This is the first time I've given the bartender a name. Beverly has popped up in a few other works, sort of just cameo-style stuff. The title is from the Toby Keith song. No affiliation or ownership.

**Preview for next week:** _"That sounds…dangerous. Are you sure that you should be tampering with something that…unknown?"_


	4. Undercurrent Theory

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This series is mine, as are Jake and Duke. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**010 – Catch and Release**

Yuffie reeled back and threw the Frisbee for the umpteenth time. The orange disc sailed across the open field in the park, and Duke tore after it like a dog on a mission. The reddish-golden retriever was a stray that Leon had taken in a few years ago, and Leon was consistently the only human being that Duke obeyed by any stretch. If you could throw a Frisbee, a stick, or a ball, however, you owned her for at least an hour.

Duke tackled the disc to the grass and grabbed it up in her mouth, shaking her head back and forth to show the thing who was boss. Yuffie smiled and laughed at the dog, clapping her hands to get Duke's attention. Across the sidewalk on Yuffie's left, Jake Alms was striking out with two women at the same time. That made him, what, zero for eight since Yuffie had been there?

Yuffie shook her head at him as Duke ambled back over triumphantly. She reached out to take the disc for another throw, but the dog ducked away, hopping back and lowering her front end so that her backside was stuck in the air, tail swishing playfully.

"Now, give." Yuffie tried to sound authoritative, reaching for the disc again.

This served just to egg Duke on more, and the dog bounced farther away, pawing at the edge of the toy in her mouth. Yuffie huffed and unfolded her legs, standing up to go and physically take back the disc. She had just gotten the dog into a headlock and was wrestling with her on the grass when Jake dejectedly walked over.

"Your loss, ladies!" he called back at the two women, who both rolled their eyes and continued walking away. "Hey, Yuffie."

"H—hey." Yuffie grunted, yanking the Frisbee from Duke's mouth.

She rolled away from the canine and ended up back on her knees. Duke was immediately on her feet again, darting side to side and looking at Yuffie expectantly. After all that effort just to get the toy back, Yuffie curled her arm in and then out, throwing the Frisbee farther than the first time.

"Struck out again, eh?" She snorted at his misfortune, flopping back down onto the grass.

Jake sat down beside her, looking not the least bit put off. "Where some say 'struck out', I say 'lucked out'. Those two were clearly snobs."

Yuffie blinked and looked after the retreating women again. "Long legs, tan, and chesty: that pretty much spells out your type, doesn't it?"

Jake looked affronted, "What do you take me for?"

"A man-whore." Yuffie replied flatly as Duke bounded over again.

"I am insulted!" Jake huffed in mock-offense. "I do not profile the women that I hit on purely through physical traits! Sure, the figure helps, but…for instance I would never hit on Tifa!"

"Not for lack of trying." Yuffie pointed out. "And I'm sure her right hook has nothing to do with it, or the fact that she's married to Leon, or the fact that she's carrying Leon's child."

Jake just shushed her, reclining onto his back on the grass.

Yuffie wrestled the disc away from Duke again and once more threw it, though this time in the other direction. Again, the dog bolted after it.

"Of all the gorgeous women in Radiant Garden, you've only ever playfully made a pass at Tifa or Aerith or me." Yuffie canted her head, "And I've seen you hit on dozens of other women much more effectively than that—" She gestured to scene of the crime across the sidewalk. "You were barely trying with those two."

"Like I said, they were stuck up—"

"Or you weren't trying because you weren't really wanting them to say yes." Yuffie quirked an eyebrow.

"Trust me, Yuffie. I ALWAYS want a woman to say yes." Jake winked.

Yuffie pursed her lips. "Or maybe you only want one particular woman to say yes."

"Oh please don't." Jake sat up as Duke reached them again.

"Don't what?" Yuffie played innocent.

"I don't care what Tifa has told you, she's reading something that isn't there." He grumbled, taking the toy from Duke and patting her head. "I do not have feelings for Tabaeus McCallister."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow, "I never insinuated…"

"I mean, it's not like I've tried to ask her out before, because…hah…clearly she—"

"Might say yes?" Yuffie pushed.

Jake frowned, some color touching his cheeks as he threw the disc this time.

Yuffie's eyes widened, "Holy crap. Jake Alms, are you BLUSHING?"

"No. Shut up!" He got to his feet. "I don't have to take this." He dusted himself off and started to make a dramatic exit. Abruptly, though, he stopped and looked at her, almost sheepish. "You really think she might agree to go on a date with me?"

Yuffie paused, having not expected the usually cocky and cheery man to suddenly sound so…vulnerable. As if he hadn't gotten turned down nearly a dozen times this afternoon.

"Um…y-you never know until you ask." She offered, utterly wrongfooted.

**..:-X-:..**

**011 – Two for the Show**

"You seriously fainted?" Aerith's shoulders quivered as she tried to contain the giggles.

Across the table from her, Cloud's face reddened with embarrassment. He averted his eyes out the window of the restaurant. "She sprung it on us. I wasn't prepared to hear that."

Aerith giggled so hard that she snorted and immediately laughed at herself for it. "Tifa is never that secretive about things. What did you think she was going to say?"

"That…she had just bought a new piece of furniture or pulled a prank on Merlin or something." Cloud shook his head slightly. "Not…revealing that she was knocked up."

The two sat near the window of one of the small restaurants in Radiant Garden. It had taken a lot of prodding—but not nearly as much as Aerith had expected—to get Cloud to take her out to dinner. While they had unofficially been on more-than-friendly terms for a while now, this was only the second time that they had been on what Aerith would call a date. She decided to have mercy on him and change the subject.

"I think I made a breakthrough in my magic research this week." She stated, sipping at her iced tea.

"Hm." Cloud responded, looking like he was trying to focus the blood away from his cheeks, which Aerith found adorable.

"I've been working on summoning the essence itself straight from the world matter." She explained. "But it's been so unstable that it takes an enormous amount of concentration just to hold it for a few seconds. I've nearly gone through half a bottle of headache medicine since I started." She rambled slightly.

Cloud looked at her evenly. Sure, in-depth magic research wasn't exactly date conversation, but he got so confoundedly awkward around any other subject that Aerith was grasping at straws here. Besides, she was really excited about this research and he was the only one that she felt confident enough to ramble on at.

"However, I think the problem is that I've been trying to summon all of the magic out of one form. There are various types of magic inside every piece of matter." She held up her hands. "One is the natural core essence of the object…say a lemon." She took the slice of lemon off from the rim of her iced tea glass. "The other is the potential energy that exists between the lemon and everything that it is in contact with: tea, glass, the like." She straightened in her seat. "If I can isolate just the potential energy and focus on pulling magic from that connection, I think I can make my spells more effective!"

Cloud stared at her, looking entirely lost. "And that's what you were doing a few weeks ago in the castle ruins?" He asked.

"Sort of." Aerith canted her head, dropping her lemon slice back into the tea and stirring it in with her straw. "That was more of a preliminary run: trying to pull any essence that I could out of the stones."

"And the flowers…?"

"I think that's an after-effect of the magic." She explained. "The energy that I pulled out was…See I have this undercurrent theory; that all magic in Radiant Garden is derived from this massive sort of uniform collective—"

"Like from the heart of the world." Cloud clarified.

Aerith clapped her hands together and then pointed at him. "Yes! Exactly!" She beamed. "And that essence, in its purest form, is just…creation. Life. A stream." She wiggled her fingers to mimic water.

Cloud frowned. "That sounds…dangerous. Are you sure that you should be tampering with something that…unknown?"

"Well, that's the pot calling the kettle black." Aerith sat back in her seat. "I've been taking safety precautions and the only thing that's happened is accidentally creating flowers when my concentration is broken. Not exactly an atomic bomb."

Cloud seemed to interpret her defensiveness as a sign of confrontation, and he almost visibly back-pedaled. "Er…So, what does it feel like? Summoning pure magic essence?"

He was trying to placate her, she knew, but she was so intoxicated with the discovery of the magic that she took the bait.

"It's like…you've swallowed this big, warm ball of light." She hugged her arms to herself. "And when I'm in the middle of it…focusing every fiber of my being on maintaining it…I feel like I can see everything. And it's not this big white mass that you'd think 'pure essence' is made of…It's actually green. This pale, pale green…almost bluish too." She murmured, getting distracted as she remembered that feeling, that color, and how it nearly stilled her heart.

After a beat, she realized that she was staring at Cloud, and subconsciously noted that the green-blue glow from the magic almost matched the eerie color of his eyes. And, again, she experienced that near-stilling of her heart.

Sitting up, she cleared her throat and poked at her food with her fork. "But enough of that. How are the new recruits doing in training?"

Cloud's shoulders relaxed a little and he latched onto the change, groaning in response. "If the Heartless launched a full-world invasion today, and this group of chuckleheads was Radiant Garden's only hope…I wouldn't hold my breath."

Aerith chuckled at that and let Cloud's ranting steer the conversation from then on, smiling at how much more at ease he seemed to be when it was just the two of them together.

**..:-X-:..**

**012 – Old Dogs and New Tricks**

"Do…Do you want me to call Leon or…anything?" Rinoa asked, standing uncomfortably outside the bathroom door.

In answer, all she could hear was the sound of Tifa vomiting.

Rinoa grimaced and looked back into the den of Merlin's house, where Cid just shrugged and got back to work on the computer. As it turned out, 'morning' sickness was not restricted to the morning hours, but could actually strike at any time of the day. Tifa's had taken to striking at six pm, almost on the dot, every day. Unfortunately for them all, it was six o'clock.

The sound of the toilet flushing gave Rinoa the signal to back away from the door. When it opened, a haggard-looking Tifa stepped out, drying her face with a towel.

Tifa shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks." Then, as though to change the subject from the fact that she had just spent 15 minutes in the bathroom throwing up, she looked to Cid. "What did I miss?"

Cid didn't look over, "I was just saying that Heartless activity is down for the first time in two months." He clicked on a few open windows on the computer monitor. "At the last Council meeting, the idea came up that they might be taking the lull as an opportunity to explore another world that's hit the radar."

"What other world?" Tifa asked, pouring herself a glass of water from the kitchen area.

"Don't know." Cid shrugged. "Nobody in the Alliance has touched down on it yet. So far no Heartless have been picked up by the monitoring satellite, but there's some other kind of weird darkness brewing down there."

"So the Alliance is thinking of sending another expedition?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah. And Yuffie has already called dibs on leading it." Cid mused.

Both Tifa and Rinoa blinked at that.

Cid glanced over and saw their expressions. "I know, and I had the same reaction. But, she's already in charge of a department and has been fighting Heartless just as long as any of us have…" He sighed, taking out a cigarette and lighter.

"Ah!" Rinoa reprimanded, pointing at the cigarette and looking at Tifa.

"What, I ain't the pregnant one." Cid snorted, "You two can go outside. I ain't quittin' what I love just because you can't enjoy it anymore."

Rinoa looked mortified, but Tifa just snorted. "I was getting ready to leave anyway." She drank roughly half of the glass of water and poured the rest out, moving toward the door. "If the Council takes her seriously, I wish Yuffie luck in getting the mission."

And with that, she left Merlin's house, just as Merlin walked in jovially.

Rinoa rounded on Cid, who had lit his cigarette and taken a puff of it. "You are tactless."

"You have no purpose in the Alliance." Cid said flatly back.

Rinoa drew up straight and wide eyed.

Cid exhaled smoke. "I thought we were pointing out the obvious?"

"I have been trying," Rinoa started, her voice carefully controlled. "to get involved. You think I like sitting on the sidelines while everybody else has these tremendous responsibilities?"

"You tell me, sweetheart." Cid held the cigarette between his fingers. "The wind blew you back here, what, five, six months ago? What have you done with that time?"

He was pushing her, he knew, but he was tired of everybody walking on eggshells around this broad. She had spent nearly thirteen damn years 'out there', she knew how this shit worked. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, she had been putting on this wounded-bird act ever since she got back to Radiant Garden. What had she really been expecting? A hug? Heartless wouldn't be so generous, why should he be? Especially if she wanted this whole innocent victim thing to pan out. She needed a reality check. She glared back at him, furious, but not saying anything.

Cid pointed at her reaction, "Exactly."

Rinoa's face was drawn as she turned and stomped out of the house, muttering an apology to Merlin when she nearly ran him over in her haste to escape. As she slammed the door after herself, the sorcerer looked to Cid and put his hands on his hips.

"You really are tactless."

"And you're old." Cid snorted. When Merlin's glare continued, Cid lifted his shoulders. "What? Did I lie? She's not a soldier, she has no background discipline, and she has no idea what the Alliance even does. She's just hanging around because Radiant Garden is her home world and she's still pining after Leon."

"Is it really necessary for you to be so…boorish toward her?" Merlin growled, crossing over to the bookshelf to fetch a text. "She's only trying to help." His frown deepened, "You realize that if you keep that up—" He gestured to the lit cigarette. "You won't get to see Tifa or probably Leon again until the baby comes…or after that, actually."

Cid felt a flare of irritation at the wizard. "Don't you have a boiling cauldron to throw random ingredients into?"

Merlin stuck his nose in the air and marched out of the room, heading down the hall to his personal study. Now alone in the living room, Cid eyed the cigarette in his fingers.

Ah, Hell.

With a low curse, he put the cigarette out in the ash tray beside the computer.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _Every doctor he spoke to kept repeating the same words and phrases: like 'permanent nerve damage' and 'almost full recovery'._


	5. A New Kind of Magic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the assorted OCs that appear in it. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**013 – Stones Do Not Yield Flowers**

Three meters: it was a new record, but Aerith tried not to think about that. A trickle of sweat broke free from the beads of perspiration on her forehead. It ran down her temple and cheek, curling under her jaw as she tried to maintain focus. The column of greenish blue vines in front of her was pulsing, like a beating heart, and yet undulating like ocean waves at the same time.

After four failed attempts, she had finally managed to separate the essence of the magic inside the concrete floor of the old castle ruins. The core energy and the potential power: in her mind's eye, they were two vapors, hopelessly intermingled and inseparable, but fundamentally individual.

She had to remind herself to breathe, and that tiny shift in focus was too much to maintain her hold on the spell. The three meter tall column collapsed. Like a mini-implosion, the vapor seemed to fall into itself until what had been the topmost point of the column hit the ground. Upon contact with the concrete, the energy shot out across 360 degrees from where Aerith had summoned it. A feeling like a bucket of warm water coursed from the top of her head to her bare feet, and Aerith gasped, staggering slightly from the sensation.

With a flash of light that she had become familiar with over the past month, the essence spent itself out and faded away. Once again, she was left in the dimly lit chamber of the old castle ruins. Once more, she had taken another precarious step forward in this…whatever this was that she was doing. Once again, she found herself standing in the middle of a field of white flowers that had not existed ten seconds ago.

Catching her breath, Aerith blinked and realized that her arm was still extended in front of her and that her feet were planted in a sort of warrior pose: the stance that she had taken to falling into whenever she was performing the spellwork. With an exhale, she dropped her arm to her side and stood lax again.

Just as before, she had pushed her mind down from her own core to the tips to her fingers and toes. Just as before, she had pushed deeper into the core of the concrete floor under her feet, into the air around her as well. Just as before, she had managed to tap into that collective energy that was teeming in everything. Just as before, she had called it forward into corporeal form outside of its natural state. Just as before, it had been short-lived. And, just as before, a raging headache slammed behind her eyes as soon as the flash from the implosion faded.

"Ugh." She grimaced, pressing the heel of her hand over her right eye, where the migraine seemed to be coming from.

This whole process was completely exhausting. She felt like she'd run a marathon without training beforehand. But that wasn't right at all. She had been training for this particular marathon. All of her magical experience, over a decade of rattling off spells and incantations, mixing potions and herbs: magic was her playground. From the moment that the other survivors in Traverse Town had started teaching her and the others how to harness magic and use it to defend themselves against the Heartless, she had been the fastest to learn it.

Before the Heartless, there had been no magic on Radiant Garden. Well, that wasn't true. The magic had always been there, but it was untapped. Radiant Garden had had no sorcerers, no wizards, no one who knew how to bend this raw energy to their will. And yet it had come like second nature to her. Like Leon with his eagle-eye aim and Cid with his piloting, or Yuffie with her ability to enter a room full of people, steal a cookie from the jar, and sneak back out without any of them hearing or seeing her.

So if anybody was going to figure this new power out, it would be Aerith, particularly since Merlin appeared to have no interest in it…which boggled her.

With a sigh, Aerith slowly sank down to the cool, fresh grass that coated a large swath of the concrete floor. Relief sang through her body as she reclined across the new garden of flowers, allowing herself a minute to relax after the little endeavor.

Sure, Merlin hadn't tried to stop her from pursuing her undercurrent theory, but he had passively tried to dissuade her. He had emphatically pointed out that he wasn't going near it. He, Merlin, the greatest sorcerer in Radiant Garden, who had singlehandedly created the Rising Falls, was refusing to do what Aerith was doing.

It was almost like he was…scared.

Aerith snorted and turned her head to look at the blooming white lily that was standing just inches from her face. She lifted a hand to it, gently strumming her fingers across the smooth edge of its petals. It was cool and balmy to the touch. Alive and fully matured. It should have taken weeks for a flower like this to get to this stage in its life. Yet here it was, in a concrete room where nothing had grown for hundreds of years. Where nothing should have ever grown.

She had created life in a barren place.

The idea was intoxicating.

Aerith swallowed and removed her hand from the flower, returning it to her side and turning her head to look at the ceiling.

Maybe Merlin was right. Something about this magic was dangerous. Maybe no one had attempted to tap into this raw collective for a reason. Creating life from nothing…It wasn't natural. But, she frowned, how could summoning fire from your hands or freezing objects solid be natural either? Besides, it wasn't like she was really doing anything with it. It was too difficult to isolate. The concrete floor was too…solid. Too dense. Too inhibited. Too…inorganic.

Aerith abruptly sat up. "That's it." She whispered aloud, looking down at the flowers around her.

That was the next step. She needed to summon the essence out of something organic.

**..:-X-:..**

**014 – Operation Paper Crane**

The most recent recruiting season for soldiers into the Radiant Garden Allied program had brought in nearly 50 hopefuls. Hundreds of men and women signed up for the various sects of the armed forces under the Alliance each year, but the recruitment for Radiant Garden specifically was particularly intense and by far the most difficult to get into. This was primarily because Radiant Garden was the nucleus of the Alliance, the epicenter, the capitol, so to speak.

Of the six main departments of the Alliance, the Weapons Specialist program was the hardest to get into. Currently, it consisted of 17 soldiers, whereas the other five departments could boast numbers up in the 70s and 80s. This disparity had given birth to the idea that Colonel Leonhart accepted only the best, brightest, and most promising into his field. The immediate afterbirth of that was the challenge that it posed to all applicants. The thrill of the challenge, one could say. Private McCallister didn't like to agree with popular opinion, but this recruiting season was inadvertently maintaining that idea. Of those 50 hopefuls, 38 of them had applied for the Weapons Specialist department. Of those 38 applicants, Commander Leonhart had accepted three of them.

Said three new recruits were painfully and obnoxiously obvious during the daily training routines. When the Alliance had first begun to organize into specialization departments, the Commander had started with three interns, Tabaeus McCallister was one of them, notable because she was the first that he specifically plucked from the field. Now, four years later, here she was, having been delegated the task of 'breaking in' the new blood.

She had spent the past two weeks grinding the three recruits into the ground, running all of the drills and exercises that Commander Leonhart had unleashed on her and her two colleagues in those beginner days. Only after they had sweat, bled, cried—and thrown up in one case—all over the training field did she let them integrate into the group training with the rest of the department. All new recruits went through basic training with Cloud Strife in the general department before being sifted and sorted into the most suitable specialty departments. So these three—Privates Louis, Kemble, and Richards—were all in good physical shape, had impressive endurance, and kept up adequate stamina. But…

"Kemble!" McCallister barked, "Stop messing with the magazine! It's a gun, not a Friday night booty call: stop feeling her up!"

Private Kemble jerked at being called out, having been fumbling with the magazine of the weapon in his hands. On his left, Private Richards smirked, having armed her own weapon quickly and effectively.

"Wipe the smirk off your face, Richards. No one in this squad is impressed that you know how to make a gun shoot, princess." McCallister snarled at her.

Oh, she felt outside of her element. Meaning that Tabaeus felt like a moron, rattling on like some drill sergeant from a movie. When her superiors did this, it was always intimidating, but she just felt…silly. Though she'd be lying if she said it wasn't enjoyable when the new recruits shot to attention and tripped over themselves to make her stop yelling at them.

Heck, if she was going to stamp her name on their training papers and turn them over to Commander Leonhart, if these bozos were going to be traced back to HER handiwork, she would make damn sure that they looked amazing. She would reprimand the other soldiers in the department occasionally, but only if they really needed the kick. And vice versa of course.

Someone clasped her shoulder from behind. "Hey, Tab—"

Muscle memory kicked in and she pivoted on her heel, whipping her arm up to knock the offender's hand from her shoulder. She only just stopped her other fist from flying forward when she recognized the offender as Jake Alms.

"Bah!" He jumped back a step, lifting his hands to shield himself.

Tabaeus dropped her arms, "Jake?" She exhaled in exasperation. "What are you doing here?"

The man straightened, dusting himself off as he recovered himself. Sure enough, his cheeky grin was almost immediately back across his face. "And good afternoon to you too."

Tabaeus frowned, "I'm kind of busy right now." She gestured to the routine.

Jake shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know, but I have a query to pose to you."

If he was trying to waste her time, then mission accomplished. Her eye twitched.

"I heard you crashed Strife's training squad a few weeks back too. Is this your new thing now…black panther?"

Jake chortled sardonically, "No, no, just keepin' 'em on their toes…"

Tabaeus felt her patience wearing thin. Jake was amusing, sure, and a fun guy to waste time with, but she had no time to waste at the moment.

"Any-who, I was wondering—" Jake faced her again, that cheeky grin warbling a bit. "if you would like to go out sometime. With me."

Tabaeus chuckled at his little joke but stopped when he didn't join her. "Seriously?"

"Er—" He shifted side to side awkwardly. "Yeah."

"No." Utterly wrongfooted, she hastily looked for an exit strategy. "Um…Sorry, I…I have to go—"

Then, without waiting for his response, she marched stiffly toward Kemble, whose eyes widened as she approached, bracing himself to get yelled at. Her mind buzzed: what the Hell had that been about?

**..:-X-:..**

**015 – Not that Kind of Therapy**

With a hiss, Leon eased the weight bar back to the base of the machine.

"Dammit." He released the white-knuckle grip that he had developed around the edges of the seat of the machine.

Careful not to let his legs swing back from under the weight bar, he leaned forward and rubbed his knee. The physical therapist had told him to take it easy after the surgery, but he couldn't afford to just sit around on his ass when there was so much to do. The sooner his knee healed, the sooner he would stop being a useless burden on the Alliance.

It had been a little over two months since he had critically injured his knee during a campaign mission to a new world that had been under recent attack by the Heartless. Deployed with three squads under the Alliance's orders, he and his soldiers had barely managed to calm the storm and disable the Heartless long enough for King Mickey to magically seal the Heart of the world from the darkness with his Keyblade.

In return for that, he had had his knee wrenched out of joint, tendons and muscle bit through to bone by a Heartless that took the form of an overlarge wolf. Corrective surgery had only done so much. Every doctor he spoke to kept repeating the same words and phrases: like 'permanent nerve damage', 'almost full recovery', and 'recover most of the use of the knee'.

So here he was, hardly able to force his mending leg to lift a simple, easy weight. How was he supposed to fight Heartless if he couldn't even do that? At least he wasn't dependent on crutches anymore. That had been embarrassing. Now he was down to just a cane, and even then only when the knee was bothering him or he had taxed it too much.

Daniel King, one of Aerith's most accomplished interns and recently promoted head of the orthopedic division of her Medicinal Magic department, had offered his services as a physical therapist not long after Leon's surgery. And as much as Leon had huffed and griped about needing help, he had to admit that this rehabilitation would have taken much longer without the man's help. And he admitted it very quietly still.

"Congratulations." King said, standing by as Leon moved his legs away from the mechanism of the weight machine.

"Ten pounds doesn't call for congratulations." Leon grumbled, eying the pathetic weight ring on the machine.

King chuckled, unfolding his arms. "No, no, though that is getting better." He gestured to Leon's knee. "No, I meant about the baby. I see you four days a week, and I had to find out from Merlin."

"Sorry." Leon grimaced a little, bending and straightening the knee a few times to try and rid it of the soreness. "I've been a little preoccupied."

King gave an understanding shrug and sank into his swivel chair, lifting up the clipboard that he used to monitor Leon's progress. "Yeah, I guess between this and obstetric visits, you and Tifa are about tired of seeing doctors, eh?"

Daniel King was one of Aerith's older recruits, joining the Alliance when he was in his late thirties, putting him in his early forties now, complete with salt-and-pepper hair and just enough wrinkles around the eyes to look paternal to everybody younger than him. He had a full medical education in orthopedics, though, and even relatively un-versed in magic, he had picked up on it quickly. Unlike his younger, inexperienced peers, King was perfectly comfortable setting up shop on Radiant Garden and not being assigned to triage missions and battlefield situations. He had a wife and two teenage daughters, one of which was considering joining the Alliance herself. He said that he had enough stress to worry about without the bullets flying around his head.

"Still doing your exercises and stretches every day, yes?" King prompted. "Not skimping just because I'm not around to yell at you, right?"

Leon snorted; he would love to see the perpetually-smiling man actually yell at anybody. He doubted it was possible. "Right."

King bobbed his head. "Good, because you've only got about five months of freedom left."

"More like seven." Leon corrected. "Tifa's not quite that far along."

"No, I meant five." King gently chided. "You're not going to be able to play the 'my knee hurts' card to get out of stuff when she's seven months along. You need to start bracing yourself now."

Leon blinked, "Huh?" He waved him off, "Right, right, mood swings, food cravings, hormones. I've done my homework, Dr. King. I know what I'm looking at here."

King's face went unusually serious. "No you don't."

Leon paused, looking at him.

"You have no idea, son." King said somberly. "My advice? Never tell her no, no matter what time of day or night, no matter what she asks you to do. Midnight grocery run, four am baby-crying-stopper, impromptu foot massages, the works."

Leon squinted one eye at him.

Then, just as abruptly, King straightened with a snort, "I'm just kidding. Not about the foot massage though. Master the foot massage, and you will gain god status…which will quickly be revoked in the delivery room when you become the scum of the earth to her."

Before Leon could come up with a response for that, King was moving in front of him to inspect his knee. "Now, let's make sure you'll be able to chase after this kid when he or she learns how to run away from you."

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **Sprinkled some new OCs in there for those minor-but-needed positions. I won't go overboard with them, but they are needed to get the more important characters going forward. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated!

**Preview for next week:** _This was Leon's territory. The two of them, while no longer hostile, had an unspoken truce between them to keep things civil: you stay in your zone, I stay in mine, no feet get stepped on. Now, not only was Cloud IN Leon's department, but he was reprimanding one of Leon's interns._


	6. Food Cravings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection of shorts is mine as are the OCs that pop into this chapter. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**016 – Taste of Victory**

Yuffie watched, both disgusted and enraptured at the same time, as Tifa piled watermelon slices on top of her peanut butter sandwiches and topped that off with spears of dill pickles. The younger woman continued to watch as Tifa contentedly rolled up the sandwich and proceeded to take a bite out of it.

"You are so gross." Yuffie said in awe.

Tifa, mouth full, just shrugged as she chewed.

Leon had warned Yuffie that the food cravings had started, but he had only said that she had cleared out all of the spicy food in the house. Tacos, salsa, peppers: he had even said that he caught her dipping whole jalapenos into guacamole and eating them. How Tifa still had a tongue, Yuffie couldn't fathom.

But this…Yuffie hadn't been prepared for this.

"You can NOT tell me that that monstrosity tastes good." She gawked.

Tifa swallowed her first bite, "Like manna from heaven." She took another bite.

It hurt her stomach to watch, but Yuffie couldn't look away.

"What other weird crap have you been eating?" She asked curiously.

Tifa shrugged again, and answered after swallowing. "Nothing too unusual—"

"I'll decide what's unusual, you freak," Yuffie eyed the 'sandwich'.

"—pretty much just add bacon or ice cream to anything." Tifa replied, licking peanut butter off her thumb. She spun to Yuffie, "We should get ice cream."

Yuffie snorted and shook her head, "I've decided that you being pregnant is going to be the source of my entertainment for the next seven months."

Tifa shot her a snarky look as she finished swallowing. "So, any news on the mission?"

Yuffie's eyes lit up. "Actually, now that you mention it, my odds are really looking good." She bounced in her seat. "Aerith and Cid gave me recommendations to the assignment board. Aerith would recommend a rock if the sun hit it just right, so I'm thinking that the board will take Cid's word more seriously. Ya know, since he tries to be a hard ass all the time, but I know he gave me a good reference. He had to; you realize how many times over the years that I've saved his butt?...A lot!"

As she rattled on excitedly, she swung her chair side to side. And excited she should have been. This was going to be her big break, baby! No more kiddie missions, no more tag team recons, and no more being babysat on patrols. It was time to unleash her inner beast! The Heartless better beware, because the great ninja Yuffie was going to come get 'em!

"Where is the mission?" Tifa prompted when Yuffie paused to take a breath.

"Eh? How should I know?" Yuffie tilted her head at her.

"Well…while the board is deliberating on who to put as the head of the mission, you should be info gathering about what the mission is going to entail." Tifa explained. "Is it recon, battle, reconstruction…and whereabouts in the Alliance is it?"

"It's not an Allied system." Yuffie interjected. "I have done some research; I'm not stupid." She sat forward in her chair. "And as far as we know, it's been untouched by Heartless. But the Alliance is kinda wary 'cause there's all this other darkness stuff boiling around down there, just under the surface." She made a wavy gesture with her hand.

"Darkness that's not Heartless?" Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Like black magic?"

"That's where my team is going to come in." Yuffie gave her a smug smile. "Enter Yuffie; exit bad guys." She punched her fist into her palm. "We'll turn whatever it is down there flat!" She pumped one arm in victory.

Tifa snorted, finishing off her sandwich. "Speaking of getting turned down flat, did you hear that Jake asked McCallister out on a date last week?"

Yuffie spun her chair back around to face Tifa. "Seriously? He actually did it?"

Tifa bobbed her head, "Yeah, and she turned him down flatter than a pancake." She looked to Yuffie, an idea dawning in her eyes. "We should make pancakes."

Yuffie snapped her fingers, "Focus, woman. Why did she turn him down?"

"Well, from what I hear, he kind of sprung it on her." Tifa explained. "Which doesn't make much sense, because everybody within eye range can tell he's had the hots for her for a while now…then again, this is MCCALLISTER, we're talking about, not exactly the most adept at picking up social cues…"

"Sounds like someone else we know." Yuffie snickered. "Although, between you and Leon, you were kind of the emotionally ass-backwards one at first, right?"

"Shut up." Tifa picked up her ice water and sipped at it. "Besides, Jake asked her while she was running drills; not exactly a romantic mindset."

"How did he take the rejection?"

"He's Jake." Tifa gave Yuffie a coy look. "I'm sure he's fine."

Yuffie paused thoughtfully. "I guess so. Well, if I get this mission, I'll invite him along to cheer him up!"

"A civilian on a recon mission in dark magic territory?" Tifa lifted an eyebrow.

Yuffie snickered, "It's JAKE."

Tifa got up and went for the pancake batter in the kitchen. "Exactly."

**..:-X-:..**

**017 – A Warped Mirror**

Cloud rarely went to the Weapons Specialist Department. He avoided it, actually. Once the new recruits completed their basic training under him and were sorted out into specialized fields, he washed his hands of them. They were the responsibility of the department heads after that. That was one of the reasons that he had never wanted his own department and had only grudgingly accepted heading the general recruitment department. Interns were dense, thick, and made messes of everything, even after they had been trained up.

Exhibit A: Private Tabaeus McCallister.

Cloud found her cubicle, just as innocuous and uniform as all of Leon's interns, and was glad to see that she was working in her cubicle. This would allow him to yell at her properly. He marched up behind her and dropped the paper onto the desk in front of her.

"What is this?" He demanded.

The soldier started slightly in surprise, the folded mess of paper in her hands faltering. Without looking back at him, her eyes flickered to the incriminating paper. Cloud forcefully swallowed, giving her a whole five seconds to begin explaining this…stupidity. When those five seconds expired in silence, he took a step into her cubicle.

"What is the meaning of this?" He reiterated slowly.

Private McCallister exhaled measuredly and set down the half-finished paper crane. "That would be my response to the promotion letter, sir."

He straightened away from her, "Yeah, I figured that much out myself. What I can't figure out is—" He snatched the paper back up, reading her absurd words back to her face. "Dear Council Commissioner Fletcher, I am honored by your offer of promotion to the rank of Corporal. I greatly appreciate this opportunity and the acknowledgement of my efforts toward the Alliance, and I realize that this is a once-in-a-career event. However, I feel that my strengths may best be served under the continuing direction of Colonel Leonhart as a private."

Cloud stopped reading there. The soldier went on for another paragraph, but it was the same drivel that he'd just read aloud. In front of him, McCallister remained where she was, looking at the letter in his hand quietly.

"Do you realize how implausible this is?" He shook the paper.

"Sir, I know—"

"A promotion from private to corporal? Do you realize how far of a jump that is?"

"I know that it's rarely offered-"

"It's NEVER offered." Cloud corrected, his voice kicking up a notch.

His tone caused those who weren't looking at their little scene to look now. All of the soldiers under the Weapons Specialist program knew that he rarely walked these halls. This was Leon's territory. The two of them, while no longer hostile, had an unspoken truce between them to keep things civil: you stay in your zone, I stay in mine, no feet get stepped on.

Now, not only was Cloud IN Leon's department, but he was reprimanding one of Leon's interns. His first intern. His right hand. His idiot. But before McCallister had been Leon's right hand soldier, she had been just like the other green horn recruits that Cloud had sent through basic training. That put his fingerprints on her record.

Sensing the unwanted attention from the other soldiers, Cloud straightened and flatly glared around the lot of them. "Get back to work." He barked.

And they were Leon's interns for the reason: the soldiers en masse snapped back to what they had been doing. Even McCallister twitched a little at the order.

"Four years." Cloud said, lowly now, to put more emphasis on the statement. "You've been in this department for four years, McCallister."

"Three, sir." She quietly corrected. "I was transferred out to Captain Highwind's Aeronautics program for eight months—"

Cloud hissed, "Don't give me that. All of your colleagues have been promoted and accepted it gladly. They've moved on and made damn good leaders out of themselves. This Alliance—me, Leon, everybody—have given you more than a handful of opportunities to do that, and you…you politely refuse?"

"This is where I need to be, sir." McCallister's shoulders were stiff, defensive.

Cloud didn't know this woman outside of the Alliance. They weren't friends; they weren't colleagues. They were fellow soldiers, and that was where their relationship ended. Come to think of it, he had never seen her in a social setting. She was always here or in the battlefield, following Leon's orders or being the man's mouthpiece for giving orders. She wasn't leader material. She would follow an order like a loyal hound, climb a mountain if told, fling herself onto a grenade if Leon was in the way of it, and she was complacent in that. And for some reason, that complacency infuriated him. Perhaps because he familiarized with it.

"You can't be an intern forever." He said calmly. "Leon has the most difficult program in the Alliance to get into. Full of hard-nosed, ambitious, no-nonsense soldiers, all with sticks up their asses just like him."

McCallister bristled at the remark but remained quiet.

"Which means you're just like that…and eventually this—" He gestured to her little cubicle. "Won't be enough for you."

"With all due respect, sir." McCallister said softly, "How is training the same recruits every three months, when you could be running an entire department, enough for you?"

**..:-X-:..**

**018 – Square Peg and Round Hole**

Cid, as it turned out, was right. Ugh, that tasted like vinegar to admit.

"All the way to the back, she says," Rinoa muttered, making her voice high and nasally to mimic the woman who had given her the instruction. "The only department that will take you is computers, she says."

A week or so ago, Rinoa had taken Cid Highwind's harsh words to heart. As painful as it was to admit to herself, much less aloud, she had been practically worthless since her return to Radiant Garden six months ago. All she had managed to accomplish was confusing herself, nearly denting Leon and Tifa's relationship when she first arrived, hopelessly embarrassing herself with that entire situation, and generally getting in the way of Allied operations.

No more, she had decided. She was quickly learning that the Alliance had no use for slack and no room for people who couldn't carry their own weight. So…here she was…trying to carry her own weight. The problem was, Cid had been right again. Her paperwork had been pitiful: no credible background or certified skills, no real formal education—as the Heartless invasion had interrupted her in the middle of secondary school—and no real idea of what the Alliance was. The man at the recruiting office had hardly had it in him to restrain laughter upon reviewing her credentials.

Nevertheless, her connections to the big guns in the Restoration Committee had gotten her past the front hallway and an appointment with a consulting officer. After the invasion over a decade ago, she had been stranded on the edge of the galaxy, on worlds that suffered from the Heartless but were barely on the fringe of the war field. She had experienced battle and the struggle for survival. She had seen death and she had wielded weapons: however clumsily and out of necessity rather than with any kind of training.

So here she was, with a very slim file of paperwork to her name and only Leon's word to really back her up, walking down the cramped hallway toward the Information Technology branch of the Alliance. She had been sifted into tech support, of all things. Well, one had to start somewhere.

Drawing a breath, she knocked lightly on the door to the department. It was under Cid's umbrella jurisdiction, but from what she understood, he rarely actually did any work here. He had King of the Nerds computer interns to handle that…and Rinoa was here to join their ranks.

The door opened, and before she saw anything, she heard the buzzing, beeping, and humming of countless machines in the room beyond. Then she saw her greeter and deep down, she realized that her fears had been correct. There before her stood a plump man in his early thirties, wild blond hair going every which way, and a noticeably large freckle on his jawline.

"Hello there." He smiled warmly, and his voice had a friendly accent to it. "You must be Miss Heartilly."

Rinoa was tempted to reply 'take me to your leader' but refrained. Instead, she nodded. "Yep…that's me."

"Awesomeness." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Eddy Lake. Welcome to the IT department."

She shook his hand. "Hi." She greeted. "I…I was told that you have an opening here?"

"Pfft, we've always got openings." Eddy smirked, leading her into the main chamber of the department. "The trick is making sure the right people fill the right holes."

Computers lined the walls. Monitors flickered every kind of graph and chart known to man, and there were several that Rinoa didn't recognize. The colors and sounds and short-hand talk that rattled across the air among co-workers bombarded her from all sides.

"Well…I don't know if I'm right for any of them." She murmured honestly.

"Well…somebody's got to make coffee, right?" Eddy chuckled.

Rinoa looked at him, slightly flustered, "Huh?"

Eddy's smirk flatlined. "Sorry. That was a stupid joke." He grimaced and smacked himself in the forehead with one hand. "Stupid joke. Sorry."

Rinoa found herself grinning at his oddness. "It's…okay."

"We won't make you make coffee." He shook his head apologetically. "It's been a long afternoon, and I'm not usually—"

"—accustomed to talking to women, eh, Freddy?" A second man entered the scene, cuffing Eddy's shoulder in a rougher-than-necessary gesture.

"Eddy." Eddy corrected, "And wrong. I'm not usually the trainee for new interns."

"That's usually my territory." The newcomer winked at Rinoa, smacking bubble gum loudly with his jaw. "Mert Ryan." He offered a hand.

When Rinoa went to shake it, he took her hand instead and kissed it. Eddy rolled his eyes. Rinoa forced an awkward smile and took her hand back, not quite liking this one, despite his carefully-styled brown hair and mischievous eyes…or maybe 'because' of that.

"Shove off, Mert." Eddy made a vague gesture.

Mert winked and sauntered away; Rinoa was glad to be rid of him.

"So…no offense…but if Mert the Flirt is the usual trainer," Rinoa asked. "Why—"

Eddy snickered at her rhyme. "He's overloaded with newbies right now. Brilliant at what he does with computers…but…kind of…"

"A douche." Rinoa chimed in.

Eddy looked at her. "Yeah." He smiled and pointed at her. "I like you."

Rinoa perked up a little and smiled. Maybe this could work.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** Happy American Independence Day to my fellow yankees!

**Preview for next week:** _People liked to think that Cloud and Leon were SO much alike. In reality, the only traits they shared were muscle, poor communication skills, a mutual hatred of the game ping-pong for some reason, and being all around smart asses._


	7. Yuffie's First Solo Mission

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. Jake and Duke are mine. The story starts moving a little faster with this chapter. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**019 – Points for Persistence**

Leon finished tightening the valves inside the engine of the old green Jeep. The vehicle had been hiccupping lately, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.

"I just don't get it." Jake Alms moaned beside him, doing a piss-poor job of holding the flash light for Leon.

Leon just glared flatly, and Jake pursed his lips, fixing the angle of the flash light again. Leon frowned, shook his head, and got back to tinkering with the engine. He had been at it for nearly an hour now. Working on this Jeep was always a good excuse to get out of the department for a while; it was a nice escape.

Alms had apparently thought so too, as Leon had found the younger man sitting in the open back hatch of the Jeep, looking like he had designated it as his Corner of Woe for the afternoon. For whatever reason, Leon had taken pity on him—Jake never looked that pathetic—and offered for Jake to help him work on the Jeep. However, it was turning out that whatever was bothering him, it had completely destroyed his concentration.

This is what I get for trying to help, Leon scolded himself inwardly. Then, against his better judgment, he closed his eyes, drew a breath, and asked.

"Don't get what?"

"My magical powers are failing!" Jake wailed dramatically.

Leon lifted an eyebrow at him.

Jake straightened, "Okay…So you know how women are always attracted to me?"

For the love of…Leon grunted noncommittally, deciding to humor the man.

"They try to play hard-to-get, but in the end, they're only playing it against themselves. I can't help it. I'm naturally charismatic and charming." Jake said mournfully.

"Point, Jake, find it quickly."

"Two weeks ago, I asked Tabaeus out on a date—"

Leon straightened so fast that the top of his head smacked into the popped lid of the Jeep.

"Ah, mother-son-of-a—" Leon clutched the top of his head with a curse.

Jake leaned away. "You okay?"

"You did WHAT?" Leon snapped at him, rubbing the sore spot on his head and checking for blood.

Jake lifted his shoulders, "Yuffie said it would be a good idea."

"What?" Leon said incredulously.

Jake waved the flash light around. "And she turned me down! Me! Jake Alms: rejected!"

Leon could only stare in surprise. "Why would you do that?"

"Why would SHE do that?" Jake put his hands on his hips. "Not even a 'no thanks, I'm busy right now' or 'maybe some other time'. Just a flat NO."

Leon was torn among being horrified, curious, and amused. Horrified that Jake had attempted to seduce his best soldier, curious as to why, and amused that McCallister had been so tactless in her refusal. Lord only knew what facial expression he was sporting to express those three responses.

Though by Jake's reaction, it wasn't pleasant.

"Don't look at me like that; I'm sure Tifa's blabbed all about this to you." He barked.

"No." Leon snorted. "Neither has McCallister."

Jake slumped to his seat. "Is she seeing somebody else or something?"

"How should I know?"

"You're like her best friend." Jake sounded so matter-of-fact.

An unexpected bark of laughter slipped out and Leon cleared his throat to cover it. "No, trust me, I'm not. She's a subordinate; I'm just her superior officer."

"Oh, please." Jake stood again. "If you're not her best friend, then who is?"

"Again…how should I know?" Leon spread his hands.

Jake ran his hands through his hair frustratedly. "Maybe she just thought I was kidding." He looked hopeful. "Maybe she'd had a bad day. Maybe it was a test!" He snapped his fingers. "That's it! It was a test to see if I was serious! After all, my reputation precedes me."

Both of Leon's eyebrows shot up.

Jake punched his fist into his other hand. "I'll just have to step things up!"

He set the flash light down and darted for the door.

Leon snapped back to himself. "Leave my soldier alone!"

"Can't talk now! Must get my romantic energies primed!" Jake bounded across the garage.

"I'm warning you!" Leon started after him.

Jake had reached the door, but abruptly turned back to Leon, "You don't happen to know what her favorite flower is?" But he darted off again before Leon could answer.

Instead, Leon stopped in the doorway, watching the man bob and weave toward the Marketplace. "She's been trained to shoot vital regions, you idiot!" He yelled.

**..:-X-:..**

**020 – The Nose Knows**

Tifa figured that she should probably have put out one of those yellow hazard signs warning about the slick floor, but it was just more entertaining this way. Duke the golden retriever had already gone skidding across the living room when she took a corner too tight. The first time, it had just startled Tifa. The second and third time, however, it was just funny. It must have been amusing for the dog too, because Duke just kept running around that corner every so often.

The front door opened and Tifa looked up from her spot at the dining room table, which had been inadvertently converted into a workstation over the past few weeks. Five different reports were spread across the wooden surface, as was an entirely empty jar of peanut butter. It was a nervous habit of Leon's that had rubbed off on her; although unlike him, she could actually eat peanut butter like a human being who had seen a spoon before. He just went at it with a popsicle stick usually.

Her victim of the day was Cloud, whom she had asked to bring the files on the new recruits to the house instead of her office. Her entire Combat Department had been repainted a week earlier and the smell of it made her nauseated. Well, to be fair, pretty much everything made her nauseated lately. He stepped into the house with a mess of paper in his arms. And it was a proper mess: some of the papers were folded, some were just creased, some were straight but sticking out in uneven directions. No semblance of organization that she could see.

"Would it kill you to invest in a folder?" Tifa saved the document that she had been working on. "A binder? A…box at least?"

Cloud looked on the verge of a snide comeback, but was cut off as the lack of friction on the floor took effect. In an almost cartoonish fashion, his legs flew out from under him and he crashed to his back on the floor in a flurry of paper. Tifa heard the distinct SMACK of skull on wooden floor and cringed.

He sat up like a puppet with its strings drawn taut, glaring at her. "What the Hell is wrong with your floor?"

"It's clean." Tifa remarked flatly, getting up to help him gather the fallen papers.

Cloud had gotten halfway to his feet before crashing back to his knees. He caught himself with his hands on the floor before straightening again. "I got it." He waved off her help.

As he picked up the papers—back into a big chaotic stack—Tifa snickered. People liked to think that Cloud and Leon were SO much alike. In reality, the only traits they shared were muscle, poor communication skills, a mutual hatred of the game ping-pong for some reason, and being all around smart asses. In that mindset, Tifa had known Cloud since birth: he couldn't organize anything to save his life: paper, tools, anything. Conversely, if Leon—her good, ol' compulsive Leon—had seen that paperwork that Cloud was gathering up, he would have had a heart attack.

"Why is your floor this clean? You have a dog!" Cloud pointed at Duke on the stairs.

"Rinoa was over earlier. She was stressed out. Apparently she cleans when she's stressed out." Tifa shrugged. "If she wanted to clean my house, I wasn't going to stop her."

"Well," Cloud set the mess of files on the table, effectively ruining Tifa's carefully plotted map of pre-existing paperwork. "Tell her to take up pottery or something."

Tifa snorted but abruptly grimaced, leaning back in her seat.

"What?" Cloud asked, seeing her expression change.

Something smelled like…she wasn't sure, but it was HORRID.

"Are you okay?" He took a step toward her.

The smell got stronger and she lifted a hand. It was coming from him.

"What is that smell?" She gagged.

"You're turning green." Cloud grimaced, "I don't…I was at Merlin's earlier. Cid was there. Maybe his smoke—"

No sooner had he said it, than Tifa placed the smell to the odor of lit cigarettes. Cid had been wary of smoking around Tifa since she'd broken the news that she was pregnant, but she didn't expect him to quit. She just avoided Merlin's house now…and Cid's department…and the hangar…But now the smell was jumping bodies and tracking her down—

"You look you're about to—" Cloud started.

"Don't say it." Tifa staggered sideways into the kitchen and barely managed to drag the trash can out from under the counter before dropping her face and vomiting.

It burned her throat and, unlike when sick with the flu, throwing up did nothing to alleviate the nausea. It was just…the smell…She gagged and dry heaved into the trash can.

"Do you need help?" Cloud offered, out of her line of sight.

"I'm fi—" She dry heaved again, and that was worse than actually throwing up.

By the time the nausea abated and she lifted her face, she found herself alone in the kitchen and dining room. She rinsed out her mouth and wiped off her sweaty face before venturing back into the hallway. There, she spotted Cloud, standing outside on the front lawn.

"I didn't—I guess the second hand smoke—Maybe it—" He sounded helpless.

Despite her raw throat, Tifa chuckled at him, "It's okay. Sorry. Some smells just…" She made a vague gesture. "…Make me sick."

Cloud shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly. "That…really sucks."

**..:-X-:..**

**021 – Almost There**

The entrance hall of the Allied High Council was cavernous. Columns of stone and marble extended up to a cathedral-esque ceiling, only with all flat surfaces and no intricate carvings or elegant architecture. It was pretty plain, actually. Not good, considering that Yuffie was trying to find something to focus on instead of her nerves. She needed a distraction, and these boring old halls were not doing it for her.

How long did it take a bunch of old geezers to name the head leader of a recon mission, honestly? She had seen the other hopefuls; she was CLEARLY the best candidate for the job. She was the most qualified, the most experienced, the most…badass. Come on! This was a no brainer, people! The other people gunning to head the mission had gone home; she was the only one dedicated and determined enough to stay to hear the verdict!

She was halfway done with chewing through her fourth fingernail when the meeting chamber door opened and Merlin stepped out. She spun to attention, facing him.

"Well?" She practically yelled. Remembering herself, she took a deep breath and asked again, more calmly. "What did they say?"

The older wizard maintained a passive face for a moment, and in that moment, Yuffie's heart began to sink. Then, as though flipping a switch, Merlin beamed and lifted his hands.

"Congratulations, Yuffie. You have just been named Commander in the Recon Mission to World NX7!"

Yuffie shrieked and threw herself at him in jubilation. Merlin returned the embrace, and they both spun in a little circle before Yuffie jumped back, fists in the air.

"Commander! Commander? I'M A COMMANDER!" Yuffie started to run for the door, abruptly stopped and turned back to Merlin. "Commander of whom?"

Merlin smiled. "Fifteen soldiers of your choosing across the departments, to specialize in the landing, exploration, research, and analysis of newly-aligned Allied World NX7. A three week campaign to initiate contact with the inhabitants of the world and engage the growing darkness that has been developing there."

Yuffie punched the air in victory. "Hell's to the yes!" Her voice echoed around the chamber and she laughed, waving to Merlin. "Thanks, Merlin!"

Then she spun back around and bounded out of the entrance hall and out into the bright morning sunlight of Radiant Garden's square. She felt like she had swallowed the sun and all that light and energy was threatening to burst out of her at any moment. She sprinted down the front steps and aimed her shoulders toward the Allied Headquarter building, where everybody else was working and toiling about their daily activities and work responsibilities. Somewhere in that building were fifteen VERY lucky soldiers.

This was it! No more junior missions. No more B-level leadership roles. No more doubters who thought she was still a child. She was taking another step up, one more step toward being seen as equal to Cid, Tifa, Leon, the lot of them. Sure, SHE knew that she could battle Heartless and run missions just as well as them, but now THEY would be forced to see it

And if she was to do that, she couldn't exactly go running pell-mell into their offices like she currently was. She had to act the part: poised, distinguished, intimidating. With this in mind, Yuffie staunchly forced all of that exuberance gushing through her veins to control itself. Slowing from her frantic sprint to a straight-spined stride, she passed through the open glass doors and entered the lobby area of the Headquarter building.

The receptionist at the front desk nodded in greeting as she passed, and Yuffie sagely returned the nod, feeling she was about to explode from all of that excitement. Surely her heart was about to explode! Her own mission, her own personally selected recruits. As she walked purposefully toward the elevators, she started rehearsing the scene in her head.

"_Hello, Squall." She would say, entering his office with an air of stateliness._

"_It's Leon." He would respond flatly._

Dammit, even in her imagination, he corrected her.

"_I need to see a listing of your weapons specialist soldiers ready for fieldwork." She would ask nonchalantly, as though it was the most common question in the world._

"_Oh?" Cue an intrigued eyebrow lift. "What for?"_

"_I'm gathering the files of soldiers across all Allied departments to create the recon squad for my mission." She would explain. "I've just been named Commander of the NX7 campaign."_

"_Good." He would congratulate her. "You deserve it, after all this time. And might I say, you're looking like quite a badass today. Did you do something different with your hair?"_

Okay, maybe she was exaggerating that last part…but he would be THINKING it!

Yuffie stood in front of the elevator doors and pressed the directional arrow pointing up. As the lift began to lower to the lobby floor, she bounced twice on the balls of her feet, clasping her hands behind her. She would need to start researching NX7 pronto…Well, more than she already had been. It was a shady kind of world, not a lot of information about it. Any information that the Alliance did have was being kept hush-hush, which meant that it was juicy.

And, as Commander Kisaragi, she would be one of few whose eyes could scan that information. Hell, she would be generating new information for the entire Alliance with this mission. All of the logs on NX7 referred to a 'darkness' but never to 'Heartless'. That in and of itself was enough to peak her interest. Oooh, this was going to be sooo awesome!

The elevator doors chimed open, and she stepped inside. She pushed the button for Leon's Weapons Specialist Department level, and the doors closed on the elevator. The chamber started upward with a slight chug, and Yuffie found herself alone in the elevator.

With no one to see her now, Yuffie did a little hop and spun around, waving her arms over her head. She squealed and did a few spinning kids and air punches on invisible enemies.

"Yes!" She bounced. "Yesyesyesyes!"

Look out NX7, here she comes!

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"Don't you ever get tired of all this song and dance?"_


	8. Rinoa Versus Technology

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine. This chapter was written kind of quickly, so I apologize if I missed any typos or anything. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**022 – Blue Screen of Death**

Rinoa cursed and flung up her hands, using her foot to kick the coffee table away from where she was sitting on the couch. Her laptop on the coffee table just mocked her.

"That's it! I give up!" She exclaimed in exasperation.

From her spot at the dining room table of Rinoa's apartment, with personnel files spread all across the surface of the table, Yuffie sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"No, you don't." She exhaled.

"No, I don't." Rinoa repeated, sitting forward with her elbows on her knees. "But I don't know anything about computers either."

"Well, apparently, I don't know anything about the interns in any of the other departments." Yuffie sat back and rotated her neck. "Seriously, why in Kingdom Hearts does Aerith have 78 people in her magical herbs and remedies program?" She gestured to another open file. "And 53 more people in her program researching spellwork to combat various Heartless poison and chemical warfare in the field." She pointed, "Not to say anything about the 92…92!...interns that she shares with Merlin's magical combat department in training on potions and elixirs."

Perusing her Computers for Dummies book, Rinoa ran a hand through her hair. "I don't even know how to install updates on my computer, let alone write software to…to…to do whatever software does!"

"I've got 43 people in my department." Yuffie went on. "Cid's got 52. Leon has…17." She smacked the file in front of her. "That's more like it! No wonder he knows them all by name."

Rinoa looked up. "You don't know all of your interns by name?"

"I did when I picked them. That's why last names are printed on uniforms!"

Rinoa quirked an eyebrow, "How many soldiers do you have to pick again?"

"Fifteen." Yuffie slumped back in her seat. "I thought it would be easy, but so far I've only got one slot filled."

Rinoa pecked at a few keys on her computer. "Well, that's something."

"It's Jake." Yuffie confessed.

"He's not even in the Alliance."

"Neither are you." Yuffie pointed out.

"Nuh-uh." Rinoa pointed at her. "My paperwork's been filed. See?" She gestured to her laptop, "This is me, trying to learn computers so I can work in the IT department."

"Why IT?" Yuffie grimaced. "Why not…ANYTHING else?"

"None of the other departments thought I was qualified. IT was the only department that would give me a shot. I didn't even get a sympathy accept from Squ—Leon."

"Seventeen people have been accepted from roughly 500 applicants." Yuffie pointed out, "There was no way in Hell you were getting into his department. Why didn't you try Aerith's?"

"I did…I'm not…very…magic savvy." Rinoa conceded.

"I've met a few of her interns; they're not very savvy either." Yuffie shrugged.

"Then I just suck." Rinoa confessed, "There. I said it. Ugh, I can't do this."

"Yes you can." Yuffie said flatly.

"Yes I can." Rinoa responded despondently. Then, "Why Jake?"

Yuffie closed a few of the files, plucking up a few for her 'possible' stack. "Well, odds are that most of the soldiers that I choose are going to be from Leon or Tifa's department. Leon's soldiers are just like him as far as stick-up-assery goes, and Tifa's soldiers are fun…but…kind of intense sometimes."

"What about your soldiers in your department?" Rinoa asked.

"Oh, they're all total bad asses like me." Yuffie beamed. "But Jake…I guess he'll keep things lively, if nothing else. Besides, even though he's not letting on, I think he's kinda bummed that McCallister rejected him."

"See? Sympathy accept." Rinoa said.

Her laptop suddenly made a loud humming noise.

"Ack." Rinoa started punching at more keys. "I don't know what I did—Ah! Blue screen of death!"

"Force-power down." Yuffie indicated.

Rinoa depressed the power button on the laptop. The humming only got louder.

"We just made it angry!" She yelped.

Yuffie stood up, "Is it SMOKING?"

Rinoa picked it up, standing and looking helpless. "What do I do? This isn't in the manual!"

"Uh…put it in the freezer!" Yuffie gestured.

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" But Rinoa hastily chucked the humming computer into the freezer without waiting for an answer, slamming the door of it shut.

After a beat, Rinoa and Yuffie looked at each other. Then they both started laughing.

**..:-X-:..**

**023 – Long Distance Phone Call**

"—and, I swear, it's like watching a baby giraffe stumbling around in a watering hole." Cid remarked, cell phone wedged between his ear and his shoulder as he worked on the Gummi's engine in front of him.

"Surely, it can't be that bad." Beverly replied on the other end of the line.

"It's that bad." Cid snorted. "And to top it off, Yuffie's got her first mission next week."

"But…that's good, right?"

"Good is the operative word. She's nineteen fucking years old," Cid said. "By the time Leon and Aerith were nineteen…" He cursed under his breath, "She's a good kid, but I don't know about this whole 'command' a mission thing."

"You're the one who gave her a good recommendation." Beverly pointed out.

Cid frowned. He hated when she made sense.

Straightening, he moved out from under the hood of the Gummi and climbed up into the cockpit, swinging into the pilot seat and testing the engine. The motor chugged and whined, but it didn't turn over. Cussing again, Cid climbed back down and squinted at the mess of an engine. Lieutenant Pike from Aerith's program had been the last one to sign this ship in to the log. Cid had no idea what Pike had done to mess the Gummi up like this, but it was royally fucked.

"Dammit, this is why there's an entire Aeronautical division in the Alliance." He snapped. " 'Cause these other boneheads don't know jack shit about Gummis."

"Hm." She sounded thoughtful on the other end.

"What?" Cid grumbled.

"Nothing…just…thinking." Was the slow response.

Cid inwardly groaned and rolled his eyes before painfully asking. "About what?"

"Don't roll your eyes at me." She said tersely.

Cid blinked and glanced around the hangar. He was alone.

"How did—"

Her tone changed like a flash of lightning. "There's another bar opening in Traverse Town."

The change of tone almost gave him whiplash, and it would have, if half of the conversations with her didn't go the exact same way.

"Oh really." He gave the obligatory response, squinting at the mess of oil around the transmission in the ship.

"Yeah, some hoity-toity prat who's always smoking pipes." Beverly sounded irritated.

"Hoity toity? Doesn't sound like there's any customer competition there."

"Oh, but there will be. Alcohol is alcohol, Cid—"

"Preaching to the choir, woman."

"—and if he's bringing in some of that expensive, fancy-named, strong shit, then I might as well start looking at other prospects." She ranted. "Because he will run my ass out of town."

She was overreacting. She tended to do that when the topic was her tavern.

"You're underestimating your fans."

"My 'fans'? If you're talking about my loyal customers, they can't even spell 'underestimating'!" She snapped. "They're like kids with a new brand of candy."

Cid twisted the knobs on the engine, tweaking some of the gears so that they would turn more smoothly. "Well, you could always relocate." He mumbled absently.

"Pfft." She snorted.

"I'm serious. There is a severe shortage of bars in Radiant Garden. As in, we have ONE, and it's a karaoke bar." He grimaced to even confess that.

Beverly laughed on the other end. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, avoid the place on Thursdays in particular when Jake and Tifa make an appearance." He snorted.

"No…you're serious about me relocating?"

Cid paused. It had just been a throwaway idea that he had thrown out for shits and giggles, but she was actually considering it? Worse, she thought it was HIS idea?

"This Gummi needs a proper burial…and then Pike is going to need a funeral for this."

"Just admit that you aren't opposed to the idea." She pressed, and he could practically hear her grinning like an idiot.

"I ain't admittin' nothin'." He barked.

"C'mon, Cid. Don't you ever get tired of all this song and dance?" She teased. "Youuuuuu like meeeeee." She said in a sing-song voice.

Cid's eye twitched, "Oh, go to Hell."

"You first."

"Bitch."

"Ass."

And with that, he hung up the phone and went to hunt down Pike.

**..:-X-:..**

**024 – Light of Life**

Aerith tugged off her shoes and stepped out onto the grass. Shortly after returning to Radiant Garden from Traverse Town, one of the Restoration Committee's primary goals was to bring life back to their home. There had been too much rocky, barren wasteland, just peppered every so often with a resilient plant or patch of brown grass. It was still too rocky and barren, but these small plant sanctuaries had become the pride and joy of Radiant Garden.

They were no rain forest or wildlife preserve, just glorified handfuls of trees and grass, really, but they were magnificent and flourishing. There were close to two hundred trees now stretching up to the sky thanks to the efforts of the people of Radiant Garden. Flowers and grass and all sorts of bushes and shrubs now. Which made this decision very difficult, and Aerith wasn't sure she could follow through with it.

It didn't help that Cloud looked FAR from enthused.

"It'll be fine." Aerith assured for the umpteenth time. "I've been doing this for a few months now."

"Yeah…on rocks…and concrete." He pointed out, arms folded. "Never on anything alive." He looked to the gnarled up tree that she was standing in front of. "I don't like it."

"Oh, you're only happy when you're miserable." She teased lightly, enjoying the coolness of the grass and the dirt under her bare feet as she approached the tree.

The tree stood apart from most of the others. The branches were thick and bent in that willowy way that some older trees adopt. The bark was thick and gnarled. It had been struck by lightning no less than three times during the last stormy season. The attacks had rendered the entire left side of the tree barren and very pale. No leaves grew on one of the broken limbs, which hung like an open wound on the back.

It was dying, and it was heart breaking to look at. It was scheduled to be cut down in two weeks; a bright orange X had already been spray painted on the side of it that wasn't dead. While initially excited about the idea of trying this new magic with organic material, the idea of experimenting on a living creature made her feel inhuman. The entire planet was alive, she had concluded. Yet, they still used dynamite to blow away parts of the landscape, and they carved tunnels and walkways into the weathered rocks. They cut grass and they uprooted trees.

Besides, she wasn't going to hurt this dying tree. It was old, crippled, and on the chopping block. There would be no better opportunity for her to measure the light essence of magic in organic material. And because this was the next big stepping stone in her undercurrent theory, she had invited Cloud to tag along and be a witness. He was acting more like a bomb squad, watching her like he expected this to go very badly.

Well, she would show him.

Aerith reached out a hand and touched the coarse bark of the tree. She had to ignore Cloud for now. She had only been able to draw the essence out of inorganic matter with intense concentration that resulted in migraines; she had no idea what kind of focus it would take to do the same to living matter. So she would give all that she had.

Closing her eyes, she lifted her other hand to the tree and breathed slowly. Over these past months, she had grown so accustomed to pushing her mind to her fingertips that it happened almost absently. She let her mind absorb the grain of the wood and the cool fiber of the bark. Then, again almost by habit, she pushed farther, deeper, letting her consciousness penetrate the wood and into the being of the tree.

What greeted her nearly blew her mind open.

Rocks and concrete had yielded nothing, just that emptiness that housed the vapor of light. This…this was so…so much more.

Bright green light blasted into her mind, reaching down into her chest and squeezing her heart. She gasped as warmth reached out of the cold wood, as though it was trying to read her instead of the other way around. She felt like she was being analyzed.

"Aerith—" Cloud's voice reached her, sounding concerned.

She shook her head. No, she was fine. This was…amazing!

In her mind's eye, she could see into the essence. The same gently undulating furls of green light that she had been drawing out of the concrete floors of the castle ruins, only this time they were moving so much faster, with purpose, pulsing like a heartbeat. Like simultaneous bolts of lightning, the essence barreled into her. The power sizzled across her skin and danced through her blood.

"Aerith—" He sounded closer this time, like he was about to stop her.

No! No, she had to keep going. She was so close! Close…to what, she wasn't sure. Laughter suddenly bubbled up from the core of the tree. Laughter like a child's, but at the same time, the kind of laughter you hear from an old soul. Was she laughing with it? If she wasn't, she should be. A sudden urge to join the laughter overwhelmed her, but before she could cave in to it, it stopped. The laughter and the warmth and the power and everything; it just stopped.

Aerith opened her eyes and found herself standing there, both hands pressed to the bark of the tree, an involuntary smile plastered across her face, and Cloud standing right beside her, eyes wide and looking worried.

"It's real." She murmured.

"Aerith, what did you just do?" Cloud steered her away from the tree.

Her vision was tunneling, but before she fainted, she murmured. "I think I just looked into the heart of Radiant Garden."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"I'm not beautiful. I'm not that smart. I'm not…anything. I've accepted that. Why can't everybody else?"_


	9. Comfort Zones

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. I also have no affiliation with Disney's "Princess and the Frog." This collection is mine, as are McCallister and Jake. This chapter introduces a few new subplots, but just to introduce them…I'd almost say just teasing at them, really. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**025 – How It Feels**

Tifa wasn't sure what possessed her to ask that day. Maybe she just felt like it should be asked, and probably that no one had asked yet. If it didn't involve Heartless or missions or reports, Tifa doubted anybody ever really asked Private McCallister anything.

"Why did you turn Jake down?"

The soldier shoved another ream of paper into the bottom tray of the printer, pausing as she looked up. "What?"

"Jake. He asked you out a few weeks ago and you turned him down. Pretty flat, from what I hear." Tifa smirked, leaning against the wall of the copy room. "So…why?"

McCallister straightened, pressing a series of buttons on the printer. "Because he's Jake. Isn't that reason enough?" She laughed nervously. "I mean, that's what he does, isn't it? He dates women like most people change clothes. I didn't want to be another notch on his board."

Tifa frowned, "Have you ever seen him with another woman?"

McCallister looked at her ruefully, then paused. "No…but he talks about—"

"What all guys talk about." Tifa shrugged, "Doesn't make him a bad person. In fact, I think you two would do each other good."

"Pfft, I doubt it." The soldier said, punching the buttons again when the printer jammed.

Something wasn't right here. McCallister had that defensive air to her like she had just been dumped, or that SHE had been the one who'd been rejected, instead of the other way around. She was upset, and Tifa was curious as to why.

"What's wrong?" She asked delicately.

McCallister shook her head and smacked the printer. "Stupid thing always jams…"

"McCallister…tell me." Tifa pressed.

"Why?" The soldier rounded on her. "Why should I tell you? Nobody ever asks me anything. Nobody ever asks me how my day is or if anything is wrong with me. Nobody. Ever. And I'm OKAY with that." She emphasized, her eyes suddenly moist.

Tifa frowned, "I don't understand."

"He messed it up." McCallister said, giving up on the printer and turning away, leaning against it instead. "Everything was…comfortable…and Jake messed it up."

"By asking you out? Honey, it was a date, not marriage." Tifa tried to lighten the suddenly heavy mood in the copy room.

McCallister shook her head, closing her eyes briefly before looking down at the floor. "Look at me, ma'am. When have I ever had dates?" She looked painfully to Tifa. "I'm alone. I'm always alone. The only numbers in my phone are members of the Alliance. The only people I talk to are my superiors. I don't have friends. I don't have love interests. We tried that once, remember? And that didn't exactly—"

Emotion seemed to overwhelm her and she lifted a hand to her face.

Tifa took a step forward, but kept her distance. "You can't say you're okay with that."

"Not at first." McCallister drew a breath, regaining herself. "But I've made my peace with the fact that I'm a soldier and nothing more. Maybe other people can be a soldier and a wife, or a husband, or a friend…but I can't. I've tried. Yet…everybody wants me to be something so much more. Why aren't I enough the way I am? I'm a damn good soldier."

"Yes you are." Tifa agreed.

"Then just let me be that. Nobody has ever wanted me to be a girlfriend; I wouldn't know how to be one. I'm not beautiful. I'm not that smart. I'm not…anything worth pursuing. I've accepted that. Why can't everybody else?"

Tifa sighed, looking at her softly. "You're an idiot."

McCallister wiped at her unbroken tears in frustration.

Tifa walked up to her. "Are you so convinced that you're not desirable to anyone, that you reject anybody who tries to get close to you? Are you that insecure?"

"You say insecure." McCallister looked up at her. "I say realistic."

"Jake asked you out. He went out on a limb. That makes him braver than you in that way." Tifa said gently. "You're overreacting."

McCallister stepped away. "Don't do that. Don't you dare try to make me feel guilty for this." Her voice trembled. "Until you've been ignored by men while they chat up the 'hot girl', until you've had your heart broken time and time again by people who didn't even realize that you were there, until you become a wallflower in your own life…please don't tell me that I'm overreacting." The tears started to break free. "I promised myself that I wouldn't let myself be hurt like that anymore. I'm a soldier…and that's all."

With that, she turned and left the copy room, leaving Tifa alone.

Tifa watched her go and then exhaled heavily. Well. She had NOT been expecting to open that particular can of worms. It was a rare enough thing to catch McCallister showing much emotion at all…much less getting overly emotional like that. She wasn't sure how to deal with it. Apparently, neither was McCallister.

Leaving the copy room, Tifa pulled out her phone and dialed. Upon being picked up, Tifa simply said. "I think I figured it out."

**..:-X-:..**

**026 – Black and White Issue**

"You're overreacting." Aerith said, sipping at her tea.

"No, I'm reacting completely normally." Cloud argued, pacing a little. "How would you be reacting if one of the others were doing what you've been doing?"

Aerith looked utterly exhausted. Cloud had noticed how tired she had looked for a while, but now…with what he had seen just a few days ago…he really understood why.

"You would say they were being reckless and messing in dangerous magic." He said, pausing slightly to look at her. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Two months." Aerith replied, looking like a scolded child. "And don't act like you've never been reckless."

Cloud sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fair enough…but…but with Sephiroth and the darkness, I was prepared. I knew what I was getting myself into. This—"

"It's light, Cloud." Aerith stood from her spot on the couch. "It's just light, pure essence the runs through everything. I'm starting to really see that. It's in you, me, the trees, the ground. It's the heart of Radiant Garden."

"Sora locked those doors, remember?" Cloud tried to reason with her. "There were doors to the worlds' hearts for a reason."

"To keep Heartless and evil from attacking them." Aerith said.

Cloud grimaced, "Or maybe it was to keep the light contained."

Aerith looked deadpan. "You aren't serious. Cloud, you're making it sound like you think the light is the bad guy here."

"No…but…you need oxygen to breathe, right?" He gestured. "But pure oxygen is poisonous. It'll kill you. Maybe light is the same way…The universe needs light and darkness both to run properly…Too much darkness and…Well, you know how that goes…I think too much light does the same thing."

"Too much goodness?" Aerith lifted an eyebrow.

"You were screaming in pain." He confessed.

She blinked. "No I wasn't."

"I was there, just a few feet away from you. The moment you touched that tree, you were screaming like you were being burned alive." Cloud exhaled heavily.

That seemed to be news to Aerith, as her brow knit in confusion.

"But…I was?"

Cloud crossed over to her. "I really think that you should just let this go."

Aerith frowned, "But I'm so close."

"To what? First concrete, then trees, where next? This…research…this…whatever you're doing." Cloud said. "It's hurting you."

"I can handle it." She said sternly.

How could he get her to understand this? He knew what it was like: the thrill of the search, the adventure of the unknown. He had followed it the end of the world and farther, until he had practically ended up in Hades' lair. He had found out the hard way that darkness was like a drug: once it pumped through your veins and into your heart, it was almost impossible to break free. And as much as he wanted to believe that pure light was different, he couldn't ignore that gleam in Aerith's eyes, that hunger in her movements, that desperation to push her knowledge of the unknown farther, pushing for that next hit.

But who was HE to say any of that to her? She was right; who was he to talk about recklessness and danger? He had practically thrived on it for years, and only recently broken away. He would sound like a total hypocrite, trying to warn her away now. But he had seen the ugly side of that unknown. Some things were better left alone…the heart of a world had to be one of those things.

"I know you can." He finally said. "But…you shouldn't."

"Shouldn't?" Aerith put her hands on her hips. "I shouldn't handle an obstacle when I'm faced with one?"

"No!...But in this case, yes." Oh, this wasn't coming out right at all.

"The Alliance is at war with the Heartless, Cloud." Aerith took a dangerous step toward him. "And every day, the Heartless are evolving into bigger and nastier things that have bigger and nastier ways of hurting people. Claws, talons, teeth, poisons, spells…It seems like for every one that we destroy, there are five more there to replace it, and I'm getting tired of doing nothing but pumping out potions and elixirs for battle."

She stopped short and Cloud also paused.

A long beat passed between them.

"You want…you want to weaponize the light?" Cloud said incredulously.

Aerith folded her arms, looking away. "Of course not."

But that had to be it.

"Aerith, this…this isn't right." He said slowly. "This is so…SO dangerous. At least with darkness, you know what you're getting into…but…I can't support this."

"Then don't. I'm used to doing things myself." She said and marched out of the room.

**..:-X-:..**

**027 – In the Southland, There's a City**

"This is fantastic!" Yuffie practically sprang out onto the sidewalk. "Oh, breathe that air!" She did a little twirl.

World NX7 was a much livelier and more colorful place than she had expected. Actually, on first impression, this place was the exact opposite of what she had expected from the reports talking about an unknown darkness that was non-Heartless-related. In fact, she and her squad had been patrolling the bayou and the swamps of the surrounding area, and they had come up with nothing. Sure, there had been that weird incident regarding an alligator with a trumpet, but that was far from being threatening…probably.

"Hey, check it out." Jake spun up beside her, holding a bright purple mask over the top half of his face, yellow and green feathers were sticking out of the top of it.

Yuffie chuckled and looked past him. There were rows of shops selling similar masks, beaded necklaces, and other festive trinkets. This world looked on the brink of a festival. What kind of awesome timing was that!

"D'you hear that music?" Jake said, sweeping the mask away from his face. "Sounds like a party. Let's go check it out."

Yuffie watched some of the traffic go by. "The recon team is still analyzing the uptown area. So far they've not turned up anything, but maybe this darkness is just tricky."

"Then let's go analyze a party." Jake took her hand to lead her into the fray.

Before she could cave in, however, a different sight started up the street. What looked like a hearse followed by musicians, sending soulful tunes across the boulevard. Yuffie bounced on the balls of her feet, tugging at Jake's sleeve.

"Jazz funeral. Just like in my pre-mission research!" She giggled.

"Ah…funeral…Not as much on the party side." Jake deflated a little.

"No, it's like this event—" She started to explain.

"Looks like another soul taking his final journey to the Other Side." A smooth voice drifted to them.

Both Yuffie and Jake turned to see a wiry man with a tall hat and a strange mustache leaning against the wall behind them.

"The other side?" Jake asked with a smirk. "Is that what it's called here?"

"Here…Well," The man shrugged with a grin. "Here is where all kinds of magic happens." He brandished an entire deck of tarot cards in one hand, the faces facing him. "Pick a card." His eyes slid from Jake to Yuffie. "Any three cards."

Yuffie had never been one for fortune-telling; sure it was entertaining, and funny as heck when it actually made sense, but she decided to go with it. She might as well enjoy the natural culture of the place while her team did reconnaissance. She drew three cards and looked at them.

The wiry man snapped it up. "Ah, the cards, the cards, the cards will tell. You are an adventurer." He grinned at her with yellow teeth, some missing. "But you never let anything stand in the way of a good time: my kind of gal."

He winked and slid over to Jake, and Yuffie thought she saw his shadow twitch slightly in delay before mimicking him. She blinked and shook her head, getting a creepy vibe from this guy.

"Sorry, who did you say you were?" She asked.

"But that's just your present, mon cher." He ignored her question, looking at the other two cards. "Your past is quite a scandalous tale…and I know my fair share of scandal." He lightly elbowed Jake in the ribs, who lifted an eyebrow at Yuffie. "And your future…well…" He looked at the card, frowned a bit, and then slid it into his breast coat pocket. "Who really wants spoilers?"

"But you're a fortune-teller, don't you kind of…spit in the face of spoilers?" Jake asked, sliding Yuffie a teasing look.

"Oh, I'm far more than a simple fortune-teller, boy." The man slid out a business card seemingly from thin air. "I got hoodoo, I got voodoo, I got things I ain't even tried." He winked. "And I've got friends on the other side."

Yuffie decided then: Creepy Factor Eight on the Ten Scale for this dude.

"Well, thanks then, but we really gotta go." She said. "We're due to show at that one…party…being thrown by that…man…"

"I guess that'd be Big Daddy La Bouff's fiesta, huh?" The man prompted slyly.

"Yup!" Yuffie went with it. "That's the one."

"Well, good luck with that one. Hope his little Diva Daughter don't steal all of the show, little adventurer gal." He tipped his tall hat, winked at Jake, and slipped into the shadows.

Both Yuffie and Jake stared after him, confused and befuddled for a beat.

Jake looked at the card, "Facilier." He read. "Weird darkness, huh? I think non-matching shadows might qualify for that."

"You noticed that too?" Yuffie looked at him. "I thought I was seeing things."

Jake flicked the card a few times before looking downtown. "La Bouff huh?"

"I think we're due for a party." Yuffie linked her elbow through his. "Whaddaya say?"

"You don't need voodoo to convince me." Jake chirped, following her.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **Facilier is a tricky one to keep in character, fyi.

McCallister's 'tried that once' line is a reference to my older Mercy Trilogy, for those who have read that. For those who haven't, she got spurned pretty deep.

I got to visit New Orleans a few months back, and it was fabulous! From what I got to see, Disney's "Princess and the Frog" got the atmosphere right on. I didn't make it to Bourbon Street, but that's probably a good thing. I did make it to the French Quarter though, which was definitely a good thing XD

**Preview for next week:** _"It's a good mask, sonny, but masks don't work on blind women."_


	10. Truth in the Gumbo

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are McCallister, Eddy, and Jake. Foreshadowing snuck into this chapter, that sneaky little minx. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**028 – Technologic**

"I don't think she's figured it out at all." Rinoa said, unscrewing the bottom of the laptop and setting it aside before reaching into the wiring.

Beside her, Eddy cringed as he watched. "Careful with the—"

"I mean, so McCallister has some insecurity issues, don't we all?" Rinoa snorted, "Lord knows I should be the queen of that hill by now."

"The wires—" Eddy pointed gingerly.

Rinoa found the green ribbon that was…something important, apparently, and started wiggling it free. "I mean, I think Tifa is just meddling at this point. She got her happily-ever-after and she just feels responsible for making sure everybody else gets theirs too." She rambled.

"Be careful with that—" Eddy grimaced at her handling of the ribbon.

"I think maybe some people are just better off alone. They're happier alone, and maybe Tabaeus is one of them." Rinoa continued to babble. "I'm not happy being alone, but those are the lemons that the cosmos gave me…If McCallister is happier being alone, and I'm not, then why is Tifa trying to set McCallister up with somebody and not me?"

"Put the computer down!" Eddy finally raised his voice, practically snatching the abused laptop from her.

Rinoa paused in her ranting. "What? Oh…" She looked at the frayed wires and green ribbon in her hands. "Oops."

"Oops is burning something in the oven." Eddy reprimanded, glaring at the disemboweled state of the laptop. "That was cold blooded murder."

"I told you, I'm not good at computers." Rinoa folded her arms, slouching in her seat.

"Yeah, but you aren't even trying now." Eddy set the computer down on the table. "We started the night so well: you fixed the printer—"

"Well, the printer was easy. You plug the thing into the…other thing; make sure that one thing is in right and…printing." Rinoa gestured vaguely. "Computers are hahahahard." She whined.

"Tough nuggets," Eddy remarked. "Nobody else in the Alliance wants you in your department, and I'm starting to see why. You just don't care. Who are you doing this to impress?"

Rinoa scoffed, "I'm not—Nobody. Shut up!" She folded her arms and pouted.

"Rinoa, I'm trying to help you learn this. It's a skill; it takes time to get the hang of it." Eddy said, more calmly this time. "Just let me teach you…And stop talking to me about your girl problems. I'm not your—"

"—friend?" Rinoa input sourly.

Eddy rolled his eyes, "—girlfriend. I'm not one of your girlfriends. I've met Tifa Lockhart a few times. She seems perfectly reasonable and grounded."

"She is…It's so annoying." Rinoa frowned.

"And Tabaeus McCallister has a stick up her butt." He explained. "Why do you women always read so deep into nothing?"

"Because men are idiots who read nothing out of anything." Rinoa fiddled with a lock of her hair.

Eddy looked at her flatly and held up the laptop. "Are you going to at least try on this thing or not? We've been working on it for three days now."

Rinoa sighed and sat up again. "All right. Sorry."

He held up the gutted laptop. "Apologize."

Rinoa looked at him. "Seriously?"

Eddy held it closer to her. "Make nice."

Rinoa groaned dramatically and took the laptop husk, "Sorry, laptop." She petted it like a dog for a beat, looking at Eddy as though to say 'happy?'

"Okay." Eddy smiled cheerfully. "Now, this bit…" He held up the green ribbon, "…is absolutely ruined. We'll need another one."

Rinoa grimaced at the torn ribbon. "Can't we just staple it—"

"Nope." Eddy busted out his computer repair bag. "We are the IT department of the Alliance. We are the computer doctors. We," He pulled out a comically small screwdriver. "are technological conquerors."

"And complete dorks." Rinoa input.

Eddy struck a pose. "To dorkdom!" He handed her the screwdriver.

With a sigh and a smirk, Rinoa took the tool and went to work undoing more of the hard drive inside the device.

"So, idle curiosity." Rinoa asked as they resumed working on the computer. "When one's laptop goes blue screen and starts smoking…the ideal treatment wouldn't be to throw it in the freezer?"

Eddy removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. This was going to be a long evening.

**..:-X-:..**

**029 – Blue Skies and Sunshine**

Big Daddy La Bouff's party had been hell'a entertaining, Yuffie thought, but now they were getting more to the meat of this world out in the bayou. One of the recon squads had reported back some kind of magic on the readings, so of course Yuffie had to go check it out. And of course, Jake had to come along. So now here they were, sitting in the boat-turned-house that was perched in a tree over the bayou waters.

The tottery old lady that the natives called Mama Odie was rambling on about…frogs and gumbo…or something like that.

"Look, ma'am, that's great and all," Yuffie finally interrupted, "But we need information on this rumor going around about someone called the Shadow Man. See we're from…way out of town…and we're just trying to get to the bottom of this."

"Hee HEE," Mama Odie chuckled, "Would you like some gumbo? It's still HOT!"

"No, thank you." Yuffie said, starting to get a headache. "We need—"

"Need, need, need. That's all you been talkin' about since you got here." The old woman spun to face them. "I don't think either'a you has any idea what you need."

Yuffie sighed and looked over to Jake, who was poking the woman's pet snake with a stick. Mama Odie stirred her gumbo pot a few times.

"Them froggies that just hopped outta here had that same problem."

Of course this woman talked to frogs. Why not? Yuffie inwardly sighed.

"And that was?" Jake asked, reconnecting to the conversation.

A few bubbles in the gumbo pot popped, and Yuffie swore she saw magical sparks shoot out of it. The blind woman lifted her staff, stirring at it a few times.

"Let Mama Odie show you." She tutted, gesturing them closer.

"I really don't think—" Yuffie started.

She was cut off as the surface of the gumbo swirled and briefly turned gold before spreading open like a window into another world.

"You don't need glory or fame to be noticed, child." Mama Odie said, patting Yuffie on the shoulder. "I've heard all about you, but that ain't why you's noticed."

Yuffie paused, looking at the woman. She had never told anyone about that…About how, despite her skills and general awesomeness, under that façade, she always felt like the perpetual child in the Restoration Committee. How did this woman—

"See?" Mama Odie gestured to the gumbo surface.

Yuffie curiously followed her finger's pointing. The image in the gumbo was that of the entire group, including herself, in the Restoration Committee, just sitting around at Merlin's house and talking. That kind of get-together wasn't so common anymore, what with Leon and Tifa having a baby and Aerith always being busy with her magic research…

"You don't hafta earn equality with them. You've always been on the same level." Mama Odie assured. "You just need ta be yourself."

Yuffie wasn't sure what to make of all this. First Facilier and all his creepiness, and now Mama Odie and her magic gumbo…This was turning out to be a weird mission. Before she could question further however, Mama Odie zapped the pot and the gumbo's surface bubbled again.

"As for you, Mister Joker." She rounded on Jake.

Jake ruffled his hair, "Thanks, ma'am, but I've got everything I need." He gave the room a cheeky grin.

Mama Odie looked unfazed. "So you say, but you had a storm cloud hangin' over your head from the moment you stepped up in here."

Yuffie looked above Jake's head, looking for a cloud, before realizing it was a metaphor and looking back at his face. "Storm cloud? Jake?" She snickered, "He's been the same happy-go-lucky guy this entire time."

Mama Odie snorted, "It's a good mask, sonny, but masks don't work on blind women."

She poked her gumbo again and magic spit out of her staff, sailing through the air in a shower of green and orange glitter. The blob of magic sprouted wings and landed delicately in bayou woman's hand: a small paper crane.

Jake eyed the crane and then shrugged awkwardly, "Doesn't mean anything."

Yuffie tilted her head, "Jake…"

Suddenly, a flurry of more balls of magic sailed out of the gumbo pot, all transfiguring into paper cranes of multiple colors and swarming around in a bright cyclone around the room. Their wings tickled as they passed by Yuffie and she giggled.

"Do you know now what you need?" Mama Odie prompted, sitting in her wicker chair against the wall as the cranes flew out the window into the sunlight.

Jake exhaled heavily and leaned against the wall, looking spent.

Yuffie looked to Mama Odie with a smile. "I think so. Thank you." She darted over to Jake and snatched up his hand. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?" Jake helplessly followed her out of the house.

"To Mardi Gras!"

**..:-X-:..**

**030 – A Picture Worth a Thousand Worries**

Leon had been staring at the same two pages of paper for the past half hour, and had nearly chewed one of his fingernails to the quick. It was two am and his eyes were hurting from the unsatisfactory light of the side table lamp in the living room, where he was slumped on the couch. The left side page was almost blank, save for a few jotted, handwritten notes. The page on the right was a list of tiny font print—which he had practically memorized for staring at it for so long—and a single, three-inch tall picture of a woman.

Behind him, a hand suddenly ruffled the hair on the top of his head. His reaction was to close the file of two papers and drop it in his lap as Tifa leaned over the back of the couch, one hand still in his hair, the other propped on the couch's back.

"What're you doing?" She sounded garbled, like she'd just woken up and staggered down the stairs.

He sighed, "Can't sleep."

She grunted and stood, moving around the couch and plopping down to sit beside him, all with eyes half open and sleep-messed hair all over her head. "Which kind of 'can't sleep'?"

He shifted to put his arm around her and she got comfortable, reclining against him on the couch sleepily. "The thinking kind."

"Uh oh." She murmured, "That's never good."

He slid the file from his lap and set it on the end table on his right. "I found a file this afternoon." He started and then stopped, not sure how deep into this he wanted to get with her tonight, while she was clearly out of it. "Just a few pieces of paper in it…but…it has information in it about my biological parents."

Tifa's arm seemed to involuntarily loop up around his stomach, giving him a light squeeze. A small gesture encouraging him to continue.

He cleared his throat a little, "They're both gone…but I knew that already. Mom and Dad told me that when they told me how they adopted me…at least I thought they told me everything. Now…" He paused, tracing a circle with his index finger around Tifa's shoulder. "I don't know."

"What's the file say?" She asked, clearer and more awake now.

He didn't pick the file back up, instead retelling it from memory. "My birth mother was named Raine. She was my adoptive father's sister. She died a few days after I was born. Complications, I guess."

Tifa squeezed him marginally tighter but remained quiet.

"My biological father has…nothing on him. They were only married for a year before I was born, but I couldn't find their marriage license…His name isn't on my birth certificate. He was listed 'missing in action' just a few months before…Something called the Lifestream Project." He felt like he was rambling, but he couldn't stop now that he'd started.

"Wait, wait," Tifa shifted a little so that she was looking up at him. "Missing in what kind of action? I've never heard of the Lifestream Project."

"As far as the Alliance's records or even Radiant Garden's historical records go, it doesn't exist." He shrugged, irritated at the lack of knowledge. "All I could dig up were a few recurring words and phrases about it: the heart of the world, someone named Ultimecia, and the old Sorcerer's War that Dad—my uncle, actually, I guess—served in, but nothing else."

But that wasn't what was keeping him awake. He had dealt with mystery all his life. The unknown was just a box hidden in an attic somewhere, waiting to be found. The fact that his biological father's profile had 'missing in action' and no date of death…that was just something unknown that he could dig around about. What was keeping him awake was that little picture of Raine Leonhart: looking young and happy, full of life and…healthy.

Then HE had happened.

Leon inhaled and his eyes drifted from Tifa's gaze to the small, barely noticeable bump of her stomach. Tifa was also young, happy, full of life, and healthy. She had had her bouts with the morning sickness and the moodiness, sure, but nothing abnormal…or what he was told was abnormal. But what if Raine had had nothing abnormal happen either? What did 'complications' mean? Could her death have been prevented, if someone had been paying closer attention? What caused 'complications'? What could take a healthy, vibrant woman and…kill her? God, the idea of something happening to Tifa…or the baby…

"Hey." Tifa's voice startled him out of his trance, and he realized that he was hyperventilating. "Hey, your heart's racing." She moved her hand from his chest. "And while I like to think I always make it do that…Your face says something else is wrong."

Leon cleared his throat again and tried to get his breathing back under control. "The way my mom died…It's just…I don't want—"

Tifa sat up a little, cutting him off by cupping the side of his face with her hand and tilting him toward her to kiss him on the lips. He returned the kiss and moved both arms around her, pulling her to him like he was terrified to let her go: which he was.

As their lips parted, he kissed her forehead. "I'm scared." He whispered into her hair.

"Me too." She replied quietly. "I wouldn't love you if you weren't scared. But I'm fine. Our baby's fine. We're all going to be fine."

He closed his eyes, wanting desperately to believe that.

Tifa gave him a quick peck on the jaw and climbed out of the couch, tugging his arm. "Come back to bed." She offered a smile. "It's been a long day."

Leon sighed and stood, letting her lead him up the stairs and back to their bedroom, knowing that he probably wasn't going to get much sleep for the next six months.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** The Lifestream Project and the Sorcerer's War are more points of tease for a new story I'm working on, focusing on the Restoration Committee's parents, though primarily Leon's background, and Radiant Garden's history leading up to the invasion of the Heartless.

**Preview for next week:** "_I'm the youngest in the Restoration Committee. There are soldiers in my department that are seriously twice my age…and they have to take orders from me. I kick ass, right?"_


	11. Love Interests and Roommates

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake and Beverly. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**031 – There's Some Sweetness Goin' 'Round**

As the lights in the cemetery faded and the talking, garish masks disappeared, Yuffie and Jake remained where they were, leaning out from behind a head stone.

"What?" They both gaped.

As the two talking frogs—TALKING FROGS—pledged their love to each other under the Mardi Gras lights…and the loud blond girl frantically kissed one of the frogs repeatedly…and the clock struck midnight…Yuffie and Jake watched from around the corner of the church.

"What?" They both tilted their heads.

And as the two frogs returned from the bayou as a human married couple, going to work on an old sugar mill, transforming it into a restaurant, Yuffie and Jake stood across the street, draped in beaded necklaces and befuddled expressions.

"What?"

So the darkness that the Alliance had detected hadn't been Heartless…It had been a nefarious Shadow Man who used demon hoodoo spirits…or something like that…to manipulate people and feed his greedy desires. Definitely had not been Heartless…

"So much cooler than Heartless." Yuffie punched the air as her squad loaded up the Gummi Ships where they had been parked and camouflaged in the swamp.

"How?" Jake said, still wearing the half-face, red and gold mask that he'd bought the night of the parade. "We just spent three weeks basically following in the footsteps of two frogs, an alligator with a trumpet, and a lightning bug, as they solved the mystery and beat the bad guy for us."

Yuffie shrugged, "Recon mission, remember?"

Jake looked like at her like she had sprouted an extra head. "Who are you and what have you done with Yuffie Kisaragi?"

She snickered and leaned against the hull of the Gummi. "I dunno. Maybe this place has mellowed me out." At Jake's horrified face, she swatted his arm. "I'm kidding. But what Facilier and Mama Odie said…about me being an adventurer living in someone else's shadow—" She lifted her shoulders, "Maybe part of that was true."

"You mean the creepy Shadow Man and the blind woman who lives with a snake in a tree house?" Jake lifted an eyebrow.

"You know why I wanted this mission, Jake?" She asked, watching her squad members load more of the equipment. "Just to run a mission by myself, to be put in charge of something substantial and meaningful, or to just be seen as an equal."

Jake blinked. "But you always say—"

"I know." Yuffie waved a hand. "You think me or anybody else believes that crap I'm always spewing?" She shook her head, "I'm the youngest in the Restoration Committee. There are soldiers in my department that are seriously twice my age…and they have to take orders from me. I kick ass, right? But, honestly, it doesn't take much doing from Leon or Cid or even Aerith to make me feel like the kid in the group again." She chuckled, "I guess those two were right; I've been trying to prove something."

"I think you did more than try." Jake offered, folding his arms. "Your mission was a success. No casualties. No Heartless. A love story between frogs and a happy ending with a restaurant…Not too shabby for a first run."

Yuffie took a deep breath and exhaled, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She beamed and knocked her shoulder against his. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I had my little gumbo-induced epiphany, so what about you?" She canted her head. "Are you going to hunt down your paper crane and catch it?" She winked.

Jake folded his hands behind his head. "Yeah, sure."

"Puh." Yuffie snorted. "Don't act cavalier with me. You've been trying to come up with the perfect pick up line since she refused you the first time."

Jake offered a grin. "Guilty."

"Well, don't." She bobbed her head.

"Huh?" He faltered.

"McCallister has seen all of your come-ons, heard you use all those pick up lines on other women, and watched so many of your walks-of-shame that there should be a Greatest Hits." Yuffie reasoned, "Besides, the first time you asked her out, she was in the middle of drills and, from what I hear, you practically threw the question at her."

"So then…no pick up line." Jake scratched his head. "I'm gonna have to step my game up a bit…She's a challenge. She knows me too well."

"But do you know her well enough?" Yuffie smirked, "Get her attention…preferably when she doesn't have a gun on her."

Jake looked at her pensively. "Why are you helping me with this? You're not really close to Tabaeus, and you think I'm a man-whore."

"True and true." Yuffie tilted her head the other way. "I dunno, I guess I just have a soft spot for the underdog."

Jake smiled, "Thanks." Paused. "Wait, does that make ME the underdog?"

**..:-X-:..**

**032 – The Arrangement**

"So …relocation."

Cid staggered, halfway through getting dressed when Beverly's voice interrupted him. He half turned to see that she was still in bed, right where he'd left her, but her eyes were open and she was watching him. He grunted and returned to getting dressed.

"Thought you were asleep." He said, tying his boots.

"I always pretend to be asleep when you leave. Sorry, I've ruined the ruse." She chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "Sometimes I pretend to do other things concerning you too." She winked seductively.

Cid gave her a flat look.

Outside her second floor flat, above the tavern that she ran, Traverse Town was starting to wake up around them. He usually made his escape from the ramshackle world before the rest of the inhabitants were up and about; it made the getaway much smoother. Never sleeping over was a habit that was quickly becoming a rule between him and Beverly.

"What time is it?" She asked, sitting up.

"Half past six." He replied, tying on his other boot and straightening. He paused, glancing back at her. "What did you say?"

Beverly was also getting dressed, and her wild-ass red hair popped out of the top of her shirt as she pulled it over her head. "Are you getting old and losing your hearing too?"

"Why do you keep bringing up…moving?" He asked, knowing that he would regret it.

"You think I shouldn't." The rest of her head popped out of the top of her shirt. It was a statement, not a question.

He grunted and grabbed his keys.

"You think I should?" One of her eyebrows lifted.

"I think," He opened the door that led downstairs. "That it's your own damn life, and you're free to do with as you fuckin' please."

"So…you think I shouldn't but you want me to should?"

Cid blinked and looked back at her. " 'want me to should'? Are you still drunk from last night?"

She snickered, "I always pretend to be drunk when you talk about feelings. That way you can deny it the next day. Sorry…another ruse ruined." She winked.

"I don't talk about feelings." He snorted, tapping out a cigarette to start the day.

"So relocation…"

"WHAT," He barked, then calmed his voice and glanced to Beverly, who looked completely impassive at his outburst. "do you keep bringing this up for?"

"It makes sense but it violates a rule." She said flatly, her expression even.

"Rule? What rule?" He said, heading downstairs.

She followed him, brushing her hair with her fingers. "We're simple people, Cid. Neither of us wants anything complicated here, from…this." She gestured between them.

She was right about that, Cid had to agree. They were both simple, and simple was refreshing after dealing with all of the melodramatic crap that the younger people on the Restoration Committee were constantly bombarding him with. Seriously, relationships weren't that difficult if you were just upfront about shit. He and Beverly were friends…who occasionally had phenomenal sex. That was it.

"Right." He muttered, lighting his cigarette as he reached the first floor.

"It would break a rule for me to pick up and move my life from here to Radiant Garden just because it'd be closer to you." She explained.

"Would save me gas money flying my ass out here every weekend." Cid grunted.

Beverly swatted the top of his head. "But it would be even more of an economical opportunity to re-energize my business."

"Then do it." He puffed on the cigarette, taking his coat from the rack by the door.

"But the rule—"

"Then don't."

"But the business—"

"Then do."

"But if we start breaking rules—"

"Woman!" Cid rounded on her.

Beverly pointed at him. "Man!" She shot him a shit-eating grin. "I'm sorry, I thought we were just shouting nouns now."

"Smart ass."

"Jerk."

Cid smirked. "Move or don't move. Your call. Doesn't concern me."

Something flashed across her eyes for the briefest of seconds, but then she was chuckling and nudging him toward the door. "Go on, before you get an audience for your Walk of Shame."

**..:-X-:..**

**033 – Bad Day**

Now this was an interesting situation.

Rinoa stood in the doorway to the back area of Merlin's house. She had thought that no one was home, so she hadn't bothered to be quiet as she went to return one of Merlin's old texts. Magical Remedies for Household Appliances…my ass, she had scoffed. She was starting to think that there would be no quick fix for learning computer stuff. So she had ventured into the back room for reasons she couldn't remember now…She must have forgotten when she walked in and found Aerith draped over the couch, mouth hanging open, hair messed, clothes crinkled.

Clearly the woman had spent the night on this old, coarse, badly upholstered couch. The question was…why? Rinoa scrunched her lips together; there was only one way to find out.

Fetching an ice cube from the mini-freezer, Rinoa leaned over the slumbering woman and discretely dropped it down the back of Aerith's shirt. Aerith stirred and grunted, and she almost fell still again…before suddenly bolting upright so fast that Rinoa staggered away from her.

"Ah, holy mother—" Aerith shot to her feet, arms flailing to get at the cold that was sliding down her back between her shirt and her skin.

Rinoa laughed and kept herself out of arms' reach as Aerith flung the ice cube out of the bottom of her jacket. The flowergirl rounded on Rinoa, looking both irritated and still half-asleep.

"What was that for?" She yelled through a yawn, stretching her arms over her head.

Rinoa just shrugged and looked at the couch. "What's with—" She gestured to it.

Aerith grimaced at her, rubbing her cheek where the couch's upholstery had left indentations on her skin. "Late night."

Rinoa lifted an eyebrow, "With what? You don't do night patrols."

"Private tutoring." Aerith offered.

Rinoa lifted her other eyebrow. "You weren't here at eleven pm when I came to borrow a text from Merlin."

Aerith paused. "I didn't want to walk home?"

"Are you asking me?" Rinoa folded her arms. "Is everything okay?"

The other woman sighed, combing her ponytail with her fingers. "Yes and no."

"Yes part first." Rinoa said.

She had never agreed with getting bad news first. She'd rather just delay the inevitable instead. On hindsight, sure, that tactic hadn't really worked in her favor, but she was going to stick to her guns.

"My research is going great." Aerith offered, sitting back down on the couch.

Rinoa sat in the chair opposite the couch, crossing one leg over the other. "That's good." she paused a beat. "And the no part?"

Aerith listed them off with her fingers. "Cloud doesn't like it, so we're not talking right now. I've been in a state of perpetual headache for the past three days. The Alliance cut funding to my department again by fifteen percent. I burnt the roof of my mouth with my coffee yesterday morning…right before I got my notice of eviction from my landlord."

As she finished, Aerith looked at Rinoa flatly. "Hence…the couch." She patted the cushion of the armrest.

Rinoa merely sat there, unsure how to proceed. It was too early in the morning to intelligently combat that drama. Aerith wasn't really looking at her as though she expected advice or sympathy, her expression was more of a 'well my life sucks, how's yours?' look.

In response, Rinoa propped her elbow on the armrest of the chair and bit the edge of her index fingernail. "I broke my fourth computer at the IT department yesterday…and short circuited the entire claymore security system for the industrial district." She lifted her shoulders, "I swear I saw a vein in Eddy's temple shaped like the Virgin Mary."

Aerith eyed her steadily for a moment and Rinoa offered a grin. It was all she could offer, really…Wait, actually—

"You could live with me." She blurted.

Aerith blinked. "Huh?"

Rinoa sat forward in her seat. "Yeah! The apartment has two bedrooms. The second one is just gathering dust right now. I was thinking of renting it anyway!"

"Thanks, but I couldn't." Aerith shook her head.

"It'd be half the rent and utilities." Rinoa bounced in her seat, growing on the idea more by the second. "It'd be great!"

"Er." Aerith rubbed at her cheek again.

Rinoa canted her head. "At least tell me you'll think about it. Living with me can't be as bad as sleeping on a couch at Merlin's." She narrowed one eye.

Aerith looked embarrassed. That hadn't been Rinoa's intention, but she couldn't apologize for it: that would make it worse.

"I'll…think about it." She finally said.

"Woot." Rinoa popped back up on her feet. "Quick question…What is the best way to apologize to a supervisor for destroying a fourth computer on the department's munny? Sincerity or humor? Because I don't want to be a smart ass, but I found this funny little card about grief and mourning the loss of a laptop…"

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _From her spot at the table, Yuffie gave Jake a thumb up. She had done her part in getting Tabaeus to the bar, now the ball was in his court. He hopped up onto the karaoke stage and snatched up the microphone_


	12. Karaoke Serenade

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Jake and McCallister. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**034 – Love at First Sight**

_Womp, womp. Womp, womp. Womp, womp._

Tifa was certain in that moment that that was the most amazing sound she'd ever heard. Dr. Polly Kim held the ultrasound wand against the small bulge of Tifa's stomach, adjusting the angle a few times to get a clearer image on the monitor. Unlike several weeks ago, at their first visit, the mess of static on the monitor actually yielded a discernible shape this time. Tifa felt a flutter in her chest as she distinctly saw their baby move.

Sitting in the chair beside her, Leon jumped, pointing. "D'you see that?!" He started, like an excitable puppy.

Dr. Kim smiled at his reaction and looked to Tifa knowingly. Tifa started to smile back, but she had been wearing the same dumb grin on her face since the doctor first turned on the ultrasound.

"I see it." Tifa said softly, more than slightly in awe.

"I think—" Leon squinted, ducking his head a little at the screen, as though that would make everything clearer. "I think I saw a foot." He whirled to Dr. Kim. "Was that a foot?"

Dr. Kim chuckled. "Probably. The baby does have feet. Two of them, actually."

Tifa felt giddy. For the past few months, she had been feeling her body change. Not all of it was pleasant…Hardly any of it was pleasant, if she was honest. Headaches, dizziness, moodiness, morning sickness, food cravings, food aversions, what felt like all of her senses maxing out at the same time, exhaustion, and, most recently, some muscle cramping.

But all of that suddenly seemed to be leading up to something as she looked at the ultrasound: seeing a head and feet and other moving parts inside her. She had only just begun to show around the belly: enough to look like she was gaining weight, but not that recognizable bump associated with pregnancy. Even just that little bump, however, made her head swim.

"I can't quite tell the gender. Sometimes it takes a little longer to see that." Dr. Kim said, removing the sensor from Tifa's skin and getting back to business. "When the time comes, do you want to know the gender ahead of time or be surprised?"

Tifa and Leon exchanged a slow look. They hadn't really discussed that. They had talked about seemingly everything else: nurseries and cribs and hospitals and diets and exercising and babyproofing and tests and how-to's, etc, etc. Yet somehow, when to find out the sex of this little bundle had never really popped up.

Leon's eyes were bright and she could tell he was exercising immense control not to spaz out and probably bounce around the exam room. He hid it well, but she had been catching him in the act of merely staring at her and smiling, being more affectionate than usual, and taking any opportunity to touch her stomach. She pretended to be annoyed and tease him, but she found his behavior to be absolutely adorable. Then again, her brain was swimming in hormones, so God only knew how SHE had been behaving.

"I don't—" Tifa started. "—really know."

Leon gave a little shrug and rubbed the back of his neck. "Would make picking colors for the nursery easier."

Tifa tutted, taking Dr. Kim's offered tissues to wipe the gel from her stomach and tug her shirt back down. "Now who says we're doing the stereotypical: blue means boy, pink means girl? Personally, I like green."

He lifted an eyebrow with a smirk, "For which?"

"Both." She quipped, bobbing her head as she sat up.

Dr. Kim smiled. "You have some time to talk about it. Now that you're in your second trimester, you should be feeling more comfortable than you have been. I would recommend getting into the habit of sleeping on your left side. This position will help with circulation." She advised.

Tifa nodded and scooted to sit on the edge of the exam table.

"And even if we can't tell the gender yet," Dr. Kim continued. "Generally around this time of growth, your baby will have developed ears. So it is possible that your baby may be able to hear you."

Leon snorted, "So no more hanging around Cid and his mouth."

Tifa snickered but asked the doctor. "Is it true that listening to classical music could increase an unborn baby's brain activity early on?"

Dr. Kim canted her head, "Put simply, it can."

Leon squinted an eye at Tifa. She looked at him and lifted her shoulders. "What? Don't give me that look. Last week you were trying to figure out how to babyproof the collapsible stairs to the attic."

"It's a legitimate pursuit." He huffed.

Tifa leaned toward him. "You have to be six feet tall to REACH them."

"Whatever." He folded his arms, but his smirk stayed in place. "At this rate, our kid will be able to figure out a way to dismantle them with the power of Mozart."

Tifa stood off the table. "Hopeless…Thank you, Dr. Kim."

The doctor nodded with an amused smile. "Of course. Good luck with the music."

As they left the office, Leon looked at Tifa. "Maybe instead of classical music, you could just start listening to comfort sounds…like running water or—"

"Leon, I already have to pee every five minutes as it is…"

**..:-X-:..**

**035 – Unfamiliar Territory**

Rinoa backed into the door to her apartment, as her arms were laden with heavy boxes. She swept in with a flourish, leaving Aerith to enter in a more subdued manner.

"Welcome to the abode!" Rinoa announced, setting the boxes on the counter top that separated the living room from the kitchen.

It was only the second time that Aerith had ever been in the apartment since Leon and Tifa had moved out and Rinoa had taken over the lease. It was a bit of a shock in difference. While Tifa and Leon had kept minimal furniture and modest décor, and piles of paperwork everywhere as they controlled two individual departments in the Alliance, Rinoa's habitation in the apartment was much more…bizarre.

Rinoa, as it turned out, was a furniture junkie. In a living room built to contain one sofa, a coffee table, and maybe a recliner, she had crowded in two couches, a long coffee table with a glass surface, a wingback chair, and one of those abdominal exercise machines. This left virtually no room for any dining furniture, aside from a shady looking card table, one black office chair that she had probably nicked from somewhere, and a bright yellow lawn chair. All of the other furniture was brown suede.

The pastel beige walls had had posters pinned all over them: spanning from motivational pictures with penguins on them to monochromatic, blown up photographs of trees and rivers, to the acid-trip look of a rock band poster, to the subtle colors of a classical art piece reproduction. It was a clash of the cultural titans, and just trying to look at it all made Aerith's eyes hurt.

"What do you think?" Rinoa chirped, beaming ear to ear and obviously proud of herself.

Aerith figured she had a right to be. Just six or so months ago, the woman had stumbled back into Radiant Garden with nothing to her name but a few hundred munny and the clothes on her back. She had returned to no family, no home, and only friends that she hadn't seen or talked to since the invasion of the Heartless 15 years earlier. Unemployed, unskilled, and unconnected, she had done extremely well for herself in those six months.

"It's lovely." Aerith responded genuinely with a soft smile. "I'm just sorry to be an inconvenience."

"Pfft!" Rinoa waved a hand. "Are you kidding? Being roommates is going to be the best thing ever. This place gets so….quiet and boring when I'm here alone."

Alone. The word resonated in Aerith's head and she sighed.

"Either way," She said. "I appreciate you letting me move in."

Last week, her notice of eviction had been less of a notice and more of an eviction. It turned out that not only had Aerith defaulted on the last few rent checks, but the few before that had bounced on payment. And, despite her good terms with the landlord, he simply couldn't handle tenants who wouldn't—in her case, couldn't—pay their share.

She had mulled her options and they had all been humiliating. She and Cloud weren't comfortable enough in their relationship yet to breach the 'living together' barrier. They weren't even really on good terms at the moment, what with him declaring his opposition to her research. They hadn't talked much lately, and it hadn't helped her through this. Not that he even knew about her financial troubles. She had kept a tight hold on that information. It was nobody's business but hers…and her new roommate's, apparently.

So she couldn't ask Cloud for help, or wouldn't, rather. Leon and Tifa had enough on their minds with the baby on the way. Yuffie's apartment was barely big enough for the skinny ninja to live in, and after over ten years of living in extreme proximity to Cid…just no. So…call it pride or the preservation of what little dignity she had left, but she had quickly seen living with Rinoa as her best option. As extroverted and talkative as Rinoa was, Aerith had seen her bear her fair share of emotional weight without going public about it. She trusted her to be discrete about this situation.

"My room is this door." Rinoa gestured, "And that one's yours." She pointed to the door farther down the narrow hallway. "Bathroom, kitchen, living room, Ivan." She pointed to each in turn, finally gesturing toward her red beta fish, who was hovering sullenly in the green rubber grass that Rinoa had stuck in the sand in his bowl.

Aerith nodded, "I think I've got it." She thanked her again and went to her room to check it out for herself.

As much as Rinoa seemed to love covering up blank space, she had thankfully left the spare room untouched. There was a bare bed, a slightly dusty dresser, and a small vanity table in total in the room. It looked vaguely asylum-esque, but most rooms do until you add your own touches to them.

Taking a deep breath, Aerith made her first contribution to her new room. She set down the box in her arms on the bed. The weight of the box made it sink into the mattress a little. It was full of her notes and papers on her undercurrent theory. Packing and moving had been exhausting, and she still had several more boxes and trips to make. Unpacking and settling in was going to take days. She would have to hold off on the research until she handled this first.

"Question." Rinoa popped her head into the room. "Sorry, I know you're having Aerith Time right now…but I gotta know." Her face narrowed seriously. "Delivery sandwiches or take out pizza?"

Aerith blinked, "Er—pizza."

Rinoa smiled, "Oh, this is going to be the start of a beautiful roommatehood."

**..:-X-:..**

**036 – Operation Paper Crane Part Two**

Something new. That had been the mission. The reason being that Tabaeus had seen all of Jake's moves before, when he used them on other women. Not only did that make it a challenge, but it also didn't quite sit as awesomely with him as it used to that people knew of his exploits. Sure, he knew how to show a woman a good time, but it was a honed craft. That had to be why Tabaeus had rejected him the first time. She probably thought that she was just the next name on the list, after seeing him work his magic so many times.

Well, tonight was going to be completely new.

And now that he was about to make his move, Jake felt nervous.

From her spot at the table, Yuffie gave Jake a thumb up. She had done her part in getting Tabaeus to the bar, now the ball was in his court. He hopped up onto the karaoke stage and snatched up the microphone.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." He announced to his old familiar crowd.

He was no stranger to karaoke. In fact, he was a frequenter of this particular stage. He and Tifa made quite the team on some nights. The twangy country music of the song he'd chosen chimed in behind him. Not his usual choice, but he took Tabaeus to be a country music fan, so…it was new…so, there.

"This song tonight," He started, fiddling with the cord of the microphone in his hand. "goes out to a very special girl, who I just can't quit."

A few whistles came out of the crowd, but Jake looked past their energetic eyes to where Tabaeus and Yuffie were. Yuffie was wearing a Cheshire grin that was as subtle as a wildfire. Across from her, Tabaeus's eyes were wide: she had already figured him out, of course. He'd have to be quick or she'd bolt.

"You know who you are." He wrapped up quickly as the start of the song neared.

As soon as that first line of lyrics popped up, Jake struck a warrior pose and pointed in Tabaeus's direction, belting it out.

"_I'm shameless…when it comes to LOVIN' you! I'll do anything you want me to, I'll do anything at all…_"

Under the light of the karaoke stage, it was harder to see her reaction, but he didn't hear an abrupt chair scraping the floor or the door fluttering as she made a break for it, so he kept going. Midway through, during a lull in the song, he managed a glimpse across the crowd. Yup, she was still there, though it looked like Yuffie was close to physically restraining her.

Well, that wouldn't do.

Nearing the crescendo of the song, Jake hopped down off the stage, taking the mic with him as he boldly crossed over to where Tabaeus and Yuffie were, in order to serenade her properly. Ha, she had never seen him do THIS before!

Reaching their table, Jake swept over with a flourish and took Tabaeus's hand with his hand that wasn't holding the microphone.

"_I've never lost anything I've ever missed…but I've never been in love like this!_" His voice cracked, outside his vocal range with the lyrics, but went on unabashed. "_It's out of my hands, I'm shameless! I don't have the power now…And I don't want it anyhow…So I gotta let it goooo._" He plowed on.

The song continued, but he faltered when Tabaeus stiffly took her hand back. She was sitting ramrod straight and leaning far back in her seat, eyes wide and looking shocked at his display. Blood was quickly draining away from her face, and he thought for a wild moment that she might pass out. That DEFINITELY wasn't his intention, but was it really his fault if he caused women to swoon?

"N-N-" She stammered. "Jake—"

The karaoke crowd's attention, having been on Jake's performance already, suddenly included Tabaeus, waiting for her reaction to the serenade. Surely she saw how romantic this was? This was above and beyond any effort he had ever made to ask anyone out. He was showering her with all of the attention that she never got. This way, he was showing her that he could see her and that she deserved attention like this. This wasn't spur of the moment like his first date question had been. This was planned and had forethought put into it. And boy did he know that Tabaeus McCallister loved plans and forethought.

Tabaeus abruptly stood, nearly tripping over her seat as she did so. She was trembling, and her eyes flickered to the crowd of people looking at her expectantly. Yuffie looked a little alarmed at her suddenness, and Jake paused, starting to think that this hadn't been the greatest idea. He just couldn't see why.

"N—" Her head jerked almost imperceptibly from side to side, communicating what her stammering couldn't.

Tabaeus bolted then and Yuffie jumped to her feet. Tabaeus didn't look back as she flew through the doors and out into the night.

"Wait, Tabaeus—" Jake dropped the mic and started after her.

"Jake, no." Yuffie lifted a hand. "I'll go talk to her."

"But…what did I do?" He asked, helpless and feeling rejected a second time.

"I don't know…but…let me go find out, 'kay?" Yuffie said hopefully before giving chase after Tabaeus.

Jake was left standing alone at the table, while the next in line for the karaoke ramped everybody back up with her rendition of the song from Titanic.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **The song that Jake sang was "Shameless" by Garth Brooks. No ownership or affiliation with me. Though I only included a few snippets of it, this song in its entirety pretty much sums up Jake's feelings about McCallister.

034 was a little nod to some of my other stories where Papa!Leon goes into effect. I had to slip it in here because of reasons. I would write it more often, but then I'd get diabetes.

**Preview for next week:** _"See, I always carry my emotions on my sleeve. I tell everybody what I'm feeling, so nobody knows what I'm really feeling." Yuffie explained. "But you're even worse, Cloud. You don't tell anybody anything that you're feeling, so naturally everybody can see it on your face."_


	13. The Jeep aka Happy Place

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake and McCallister. First chapter written on my new laptop! Woohoo! Just wanted to share. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**037 – Peace of Mind**

The training center for soldiers in the Alliance was always crowded. It was a large, state of the art facility, designed to help all enlisted women and men reach their peak of combat readiness. There were the general pieces of exercise equipment, running tracks, pools, and weights, but there were also shooting ranges, magic blast rooms, and sparring chambers, as well as obstacle courses and more passive exercise rooms for physical therapy and the like.

Because the center benefited everyone, almost everyone used it at some point, and it was often difficult to keep your own territory for very long. Cloud had found that Tuesday and Thursday mornings, right around dawn, tended to be the deadest period at the place. And while he usually preferred to train alone or at a place of his choosing—usually somewhere in the old castle ruins where he wouldn't be disturbed—it had been raining hard all night. The dark, angry clouds through the window almost guaranteed that it would remain rainy and stormy throughout the day.

Rain, he could handle. Flailing around in unprotected canyon land and waving a five foot long sword around during a lightning storm? He'd rather not.

So it was with mild hesitation that he had entered the premises. He had been correct in his assumption, though, as the crowd was considerably thinner at this time of morning, and given the nasty weather. He immediately found the most secluded spot in the training center and designated it as his. He wasn't here to do anything intense, really. The weather was just preventing his morning run. He'd just log his normal time on a treadmill and be done with it. He had a general reputation for liking his personal space and disliking idle conversation, so he would probably be left alone.

And yet, Murphy's law prevailed…

"You should tell her."

Cloud balked, nearly getting himself flung off the treadmill he was running on, at the sudden intrusion. He regained himself and glared sideways, finding Yuffie running on the machine directly next to his…out of the twenty or so machines lining the wall. She had a healthy sheen of sweat on her face and neck, and the wire of her headphones was bouncing as she pumped her arms. She had clearly been at this for a while. How had she managed to do that without him even noticing? Her question registered.

"What? Who?" He said, getting back into his running rhythm.

Without breaking stride, Yuffie clarified. "Aerith. Tell her."

Cloud inwardly groaned. Two hours alone. Was that so much to ask? He wasn't particularly close to Yuffie. He probably spoke less to her than anybody else on the Restoration Committee; not for any particular reason, they just…didn't hang out. Why was she buddying up to him now?

"You know what your problem is," Yuffie was prattling on. "Is that you're painfully obvious but you never actually just spit it out."

Cloud briefly closed his eyes. Maybe he would take his chances with the lightning storm.

"See, I always carry my emotions on my sleeve. I tell everybody what I'm feeling, so nobody knows what I'm really feeling." Yuffie explained. "But you're even worse, Cloud. You don't tell anybody anything that you're feeling, so naturally everybody can see it on your face."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Oho," She tutted. "So you've told Aerith that you love her, yes?"

Cloud snarled and tried to ignore her and instead focus on the treadmill.

"Hn, I thought so." She snickered. "How can you expect her to feel secure in this relationship if you can't say three simple words?"

"She knows." Cloud hissed. "It doesn't need saying."

"Of course it needs saying!" Yuffie threw her arms up in exasperation. "I currently have front row seats to a potential relationship that is being stunted by one of them refusing to acknowledge what's going on!"

"What? Who?" Cloud asked, desperate for a conversation shift.

"Tell Aerith you love her. With words. Every woman needs to hear it." Yuffie said sternly, not taking the bait.

Cloud felt a twitch of real irritation creep up his spine. "You're hardly in any position to be giving me relationship advice. Stop meddling."

Yuffie had reached the end of her stretch on the treadmill and the running tread slowed into cool down mode. She gradually slowed to a hasty walk, looking at him flatly.

"Fine. Take your own advice and see where that's gotten you so far. Where is Aerith right now?" She narrowed her eyes.

Cloud glared back at her. It was little secret that he and Aerith had been at odds for a week or so at that point. Because of that small rift, they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms.

"Probably at home…or the lab doing that research." He muttered.

Yuffie hopped off the treadmill. "You need to pay more attention, Cloud." Her hard gaze softened a little. "She's too proud to admit it, but she needs someone to be there for her." She started to walk away, but then added, as an afterthought. "She was evicted from her apartment two days ago. She's living with Rinoa now. Did you know that?"

Cloud said nothing as she walked away, but then he frowned and stepped off the machine, feeling lost and berating himself for it.

**..:-X-:..**

**038 – That Familiar Stumble**

It figured that the one book that Tifa was actually looking for out of the shelves and shelves of texts in Merlin's house just happened to be on the very top shelf. She had dragged a chair from the kitchen to the wall and was standing on her tip toes, but still could only just graze the spine of the book with her fingertips. What was the point of having shelves this tall if you couldn't reach the books on them!?

"Lookin' for somethin'?" Cid asked, announcing himself from where he was leaning against the doorway.

Tifa exhaled, stopping her stretching for the book and looking at him. "I've already found what I was looking for, but the…gosh…darned…thing is too high for me to reach."

Cid's eyebrow quirked, "Gosh darned? You kiss your husband with that mouth?"

Tifa huffed, making to reach for the book again. "Dr. Kim says the baby can hear things now…so…" Failing to reach the book, she glared at Cid. "Watch your tongue while I'm around, 'kay?"

Cid glowered, then sighed and crossed over to her. "Get down from there before you break your neck. I'll get it."

Then, from the kitchen: "Shit!"

Tifa blinked and Cid pointed. "That was Jake, not me."

She paused. "Why is Jake here?"

Cid climbed up onto the chair and almost easily plucked the book from the shelf. He read the cover and looked at her flatly. "Self-applying paint? Are you really that lazy?"

Tifa snatched the text away. "It's just a spell to make things easier, all right?" She paused, glancing toward the kitchen. "I hear he got rejected by McCallister again."

Cid snorted, stepping down from the chair. "Yeah. I tried to tell him to get over it and move on, but I think the rejection has made this more of a challenge to him." He frowned and looked to Tifa. "What's McCallister's damage? This is just cruelty."

Tifa sighed, "I don't know. I tried to ask her about it a few weeks ago, but she…almost exploded at me."

"Well, she needs to get her head out of her ass." Cid said, moving back in front of the computer in the main room.

Tifa bristled at that, unable to help feeling a little protective of the soldier. "Relationships aren't that easy, Cid. You should be fully aware of that after—"

Cid lifted a hand. "Now, don't lump me and Beverly in that category."

"—I was going to say after seeing Leon and me, and now Cloud and Aerith." Tifa said with a smirk. "Are you and Beverly finally in a relationship?"

Cid glared, "Just go talk Jake off the ledge or go home, woman."

Tifa snickered but left him alone, going instead into the kitchen. Jake was stationed at the table. Stacks of construction paper were lying in front of him and there was a shoebox full of folded, jagged corners of paper in it. He was smashing one wad of paper together and throwing it in the trash can.

"What are you doing?" She prompted.

"I think I've figured it out this time." He responded, taking up another sheet of paper. "First I was just unprepared. The second time, I misjudged her reaction. What was I thinking, throwing that over the top show at her? She's practically a hermit when it comes to these things. No wonder I scared her off."

Tifa grimaced. "Yuffie told me she thought it was romantic."

"Well, yeah, it was frickin' romantic." Jake looked at her. "But maybe romantic isn't enough. Tabaeus is a practical woman. I have to woo her in a practical fashion."

Tifa winced. This was almost painful to watch. He was trying so hard, but McCallister just wasn't responding to it. Tifa had to wonder how much of this whole business was about the soldier either having feelings for him and being too insecure to show it, or she didn't return his feelings and just wasn't being firm enough about her refusals.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, not looking too put off as he continued…whatever he was doing.

"Oh, just borrowing a book from Merlin." She said, absently gesturing with the text. Then, feeling slightly awkward, she said. "I've gotta go, but…see you later?"

"Yup." He replied, getting right back to work.

Tifa exchanged a high brow look with Cid as she left Merlin's, deciding to go for a walk before returning home for the night. She was starting to understand Cid's and the others' frustration when she and Leon had been doing their little dance of 'will they or won't they'. Watching Jake and McCallister fumble through this phase was exhausting. Surely she and Leon hadn't been that bad…

Upon that thought crossing her mind, Tifa laughed out loud and shook her head.

They had been that bad and worse. Kingdom Hearts be with those two…

**..:-X-:..**

**039 – Happy Places and Smiley Faces**

Rinoa was lying in the back of that old green Jeep. She had left the hatch open and was reclining across the folded down seats, arms folded under her head. She blew big blue bubbles with her chewing gum as she stared pensively at the felt ceiling of the Jeep. Someone had drawn a little smiley face directly above where she was lying, and if she stretched, she could have drawn it herself. She snorted; how many people really used this old Jeep as their thinking/alone/happy spot? Far more than the number of people who actually drove the thing, of that she was certain.

The interior smelled like new carpet and rubber. It was strangely soothing as she lay there, contemplating. For the past month or so, she had been working in the IT department of the Alliance, and so far, she felt like she had gotten absolutely nothing accomplished. Okay, sure, she knew it took a while to start seeing results and to make measurable progress, but she had been hoping to have achieved something a little more impressive than figuring out how to uninstall and reinstall a hard drive. She frowned. Computers were stupid.

"Oh." A sudden surprised sound reached her.

Rinoa lifted her head just enough to see Tabaeus McCallister starting to walk away. She sat up, grabbing her bent knee to lever herself up. "Hey, Tabaeus."

The soldier flinched with her back turned, caught in the act of retreat.

Rinoa smirked. "Whatcha doin'?" She asked in a singsong voice.

Private McCallister half turned back toward her, "I'm sorry. I was just…no one is usually here this time of the afternoon…"

"Well, we must have had the same idea, then." Rinoa smacked the floorboard next to her. "Take a seat."

"No, I can really come back later…"

"Misery loves company. Now sit." Rinoa smacked the floorboard again for emphasis.

Looking the epitome of uncomfortable at the prospect, the private awkwardly climbed into the back of the Jeep. Rinoa returned to lying on her back with a flop; McCallister remained sitting up, staring out of the open back hatch thoughtfully.

A beat passed.

"So…what's eating you?" Rinoa asked bluntly.

McCallister flinched again, "Er…Just…thinking…"

"Ugh, thinking sucks." Rinoa chirped, looking up at the marker smiley face again. "I've been thinking if I made the right decision in joining the Alliance. I mean," She pursed her lips. "IT was the only department that would take me, and I feel like I'm being more of a burden than a helping hand. Every computer that I touch either breaks down, starts smoking, or gives me the Blue Screen of Death treatment." She groaned, "I hate quitting things, but at this point, I just feel useless." She rambled on.

McCallister looked uncomfortable some more.

Rinoa looked at her, suddenly aware that she was carrying on about herself. "I heard you rejected Jake again…Sooner or later he's gonna stop asking if you keep doing that."

McCallister hugged her knees, avoiding eye contact. "Good."

"Seriously?" Rinoa sat up fully this time.

McCallister huffed. "Just because a guy asks a girl out, does NOT mean that she is automatically required to return the feelings."

"So you don't?" Rinoa quirked an eyebrow. "Because I'm getting mixed vibes here."

"I—" The soldier paused, color flooding her cheeks. "I don't know how—" She exhaled. "I'm not—I don't know why he—Look at me…Boys don't ask ME out on dates."

Rinoa deadpanned. "You're complaining that you've been asked out by a decent guy who genuinely likes you?" She mumbled sarcastically. "Boy, your life is SO hard."

McCallister glared at her. "My life does not revolve around…that, okay? I've never had to worry about it before, and as such I have had absolutely no training on how to handle it."

"You think any of us have?" Rinoa snorted. "It's a hit-and-miss game. You stumble, you fall, you pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes. There's no rule book or real logic to it."

"Well, there should be." The soldier grumbled.

Rinoa shook her head, "At least you HAVE a love life. All I've got is a malfunctioning computer and a smiley face to keep me company."

McCallister looked at her, started to give a meek smile, and then grimaced, dropping her face against her arms over her knees. "Why am I such an emotional retard?"

Rinoa laughed and poked the soldier's shin with her boot. "Preaching to the choir, sister."

A more comfortable silence settled between them for a while. Rinoa was glad to see the soldier starting to relax a little in her presence, when Private McCallister looked at her.

"I need to shoot something…You want to come to the range with me?"

It wasn't the most conventional girls' day out that Rinoa had ever been offered, but it was most definitely welcome at the moment.

"You bet." She beamed.

They climbed out of the Jeep, closed the back, and make their way to the shooting range.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week: **_"Maybe…Maybe I'm not satisfied with the way things are. Would change be so bad?"_


	14. Thunderstruck

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as is Beverly. This is the last chapter before the mid-story climax. I've built in a few chapters of this story that will act as finales to a season, basically allowing for the wrap up of some subplots and the introduction of new arcs. Chapter 15 is the first of these little breaks. There won't be a delay in posting or anything though; new chapters will still be posted every week. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**040 – Manly Bonding**

Cloud turned the print-out to the left, to the right, and then turned it an entire 180 degrees, so that he was pretty sure he was looking at it upside down. He could feel a pair of eyes boring into him, waiting for his reaction…but, frankly, there was nothing to react to. He was looking at nothing…Well, not 'nothing', but not anything that he could clearly see. He evenly raised his eyes from the sheet and, sure enough, found Leon staring hard at him.

"It's…" Cloud started, and it was almost pitiful how the other man seemed to hang by whatever he said next. "…I'm sorry, I don't see it."

Leon deflated and then huffed, pointing. "Then you're blind. Look, right there."

"I'm looking." Cloud assured, holding the page closer to his face and then farther, as though that would help. "I just don't see it. What am I supposed be seeing?"

"WHO." Leon corrected with a snap, snatching the page back. "Not 'it' or 'what', but who, jerk ass."

Cloud returned the ultrasound picture with a sigh, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, okay, but you don't know the gender yet. There's no gender neutral term! There's he, she, or it. Unless you want me to refer to your kid as a he-she?"

Leon grumbled at him, sitting back in his seat.

Cloud stifled a smirk, but he couldn't really make fun of the other man. And, seeing that Leon was genuinely miffed that Cloud didn't see…he or she, Cloud attempted to make amends.

"Have you guys talked about names?" He offered.

Leon looked at him evenly, as though trying to figure out if he was being mocked or not. Cloud remained where he was, trying not to appear TOO interested. Tifa had at one point been his nearest and dearest friend, after all. And as much as he and Leon rarely saw eye to eye, they were sort of friends, he supposed. So this kid was half of his oldest friend and half of his almost-friend. So…yeah, he was curious.

"No." Leon finally confessed. "We've tried to talk about it a handful of times but we get side tracked."

"With what?" Cloud quirked an eyebrow, "Alliance stuff? You guys are having a baby. Naming that kid is a little more important than patrol reports."

"Not…no, not that." Leon muttered. "It's just—"

Oh God. Leon is about to open up to me. What the Hell, what the Hell, what the Hell do I do? This is going to be awkward. I think I liked it better when he hated me. Dodging sucker punches is easier than emotions and feelings and…

"—nevermind."

Cloud almost collapsed with relief at that, but clearly the 'nevermind' was for Cloud's benefit, not Leon's, because whatever he'd stopped himself from saying, it was still stewing in his head. Cloud grimaced.

"No, it's just what?" He pressed.

Leon looked at him, looking just as uncomfortable as Cloud felt, and glanced at the ultrasound sheet again. "What if I suck as a father?"

Cloud snorted before he could stop himself. Leon looked affronted.

"No, no." Cloud waved a hand. "It's not—THAT's what you're worried about?" He said incredulously. "Five minutes ago you nearly bit my head off because I didn't see—"

"A foot, it's clearly a foot. The Hell is wrong with your eyes?!" Leon barked, gesturing to the black, grey, and white mess on the print-out.

Cloud pointed at him. "See? That, right there, is why you aren't going to suck as a dad." He folded his arms. "And I know about sucky dads. Mine was king of them."

Oh God. Did I just open up to Leon?...Shit.

Leon shifted. "Well, I bet he didn't intend to be that way."

Cloud bit back a snappy retort. The other man didn't know about the hot button that was pushed whenever his dad was brought up, so he tried to let it slide.

"I thought you were a douche-canoe for years." Leon shrugged, "I'm just now getting over that."

Cloud looked at him flatly, and Leon chuckled at his expression.

"Families." Leon muttered, shaking his head.

"Families." Cloud repeated pensively.

A quiet beat passed, and Cloud couldn't figure out if it was awkward or not.

Then, unsure what possessed him to, he took up the ultrasound picture again and tilted it sideways. "Okay…I…I guess it kinda looks like a foot." He pointed.

"That's the head." Leon corrected.

Cloud looked at it again, tilted it further, and sighed, "You're going to have one weird looking kid." He tossed the picture back.

Just then, the door opened and Cid walked in. The older man took one look at Cloud and Leon, being civil to each other, and the ultrasound picture between them, and shook his head.

"No." He snapped. "No. Go outside. Both of you. Before you start growing ovaries." He pointed harshly at the door.

**..:-X-:..**

**041 – Wait for It**

"Do it again." Rinoa sat on the steps in the Bailey, sipping at her soda.

The clouds overhead were thick and ominous, low hanging in the sky and casting a murky shadow over Radiant Garden's normally sunny midday. They weren't storm clouds, being too light for any decent amount of rain. But they looked like the perfect recipe for a fantastic lightning storm.

Beside her, Merlin chuckled and brandished his wand. "Thunder!"

The spell flashed up into a pocket of clouds like a match to a plume of gasoline. Lightning forked through the cloud in big, burgeoning tendrils, branching out like spindly fingers.

It was better than fireworks.

"Ooh." Rinoa snorted.

"It's really just an energy diffusion—" Merlin started.

Rinoa lifted a hand. "Wait for it…"

Then, as the lightning faded, the rolling thunder reached them. It exploded in a wave over them, making the concrete walls of the Bailey shudder around them. Rinoa felt the stairs under her quiver with the energy of it, and she lifted her arms.

"AWESOME!" She kicked up her feet, feeling energized.

Merlin looked amused at her antics. "I never took you for one to like thunder storms."

Rinoa glanced at him and lifted her shoulders. "I've made my peace with them. It's RAIN storms I'm not overly fond of…With the whole…yeah."

Because yeah, she was over Leon. It had hurt. Hell yeah it had hurt. And she wanted to hate Tifa, but the other woman hadn't done anything wrong. And dammit, they were a cute couple, and now having a baby…Which she was going to DEMAND babysitting rights to. But, rainstorms in general just sort of left a melancholy taste in her mouth. Thunder storms, on the other hand, were just raw power and explosions and…awesomeness.

"There you are." A third voice joined them.

Rinoa and Merlin turned to see Eddy heading their way. Oh, right. She winced. She was supposed to be at work.

"You're supposed to be at work." Eddy said, almost straight out of her thoughts.

"But…storm." Rinoa pointed toward the angry clouds.

"Yes, they're very nice." Eddy looked a cross between amused and exasperated. "But you can't ditch your shift for every storm that blows into town."

"Sorry." Rinoa smiled, not feeling sorry at all.

Sorry for blowing him off, yes, but sorry for watching the storm, no.

Eddy looked to Merlin. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Not at all, not at all." Merlin tutted. "I find it quite refreshing sometimes to take a step back and let the inner child play for a while."

"See?" Rinoa gestured. "My inner child needs to play."

"You have no inner child. You have an inner adult." Eddy lifted an eyebrow. "That's what I thought this whole 'join the Alliance' thing was for."

Rinoa and Merlin exchanged a look. Then Merlin flung another Thunder Spell up into another pocket of dark clouds, igniting the explosion of lightning that had been simmering up there, waiting to be awakened.

More lightning enveloped a section of the sky, illuminating the shadows in the corners of the Bailey. Rinoa heard a few 'ooh's from other civilians mingling around the Borough and the Restoration Site below, and she smiled, looking to Eddy as though to say 'see? You gotta admit that that's awesome.'

Eddy blinked as the lightning faded. "Fine, it's very pretty, but—"

"Wait for it!" Rinoa lifted her hand.

Another peal of thunder blasted across the air around them. Rinoa sprang to her feet and did an air kick. She punched the air with her hand that wasn't holding her soda.

"Geez, isn't that just the most amazing thing ever?!" She beamed.

"It is pretty great." Eddy confessed, "But all that electrical energy means that we need to be backing up the computer systems, particularly the perimeter security claymores."

Rinoa blinked. "Oh, right. I guess the Heartless like thunder storms too?"

"They like the breach in security that tends to crop up when lightning hits the power generators." Eddy canted his head.

Rinoa looked at Merlin again. "I guess we'll have to postpone our lightning battle until then, eh? Gotta go save the town." She chuckled.

Merlin waved them on. "Go on then. Defeat the Heartless with computers."

A snap of lightning flickered through the clouds over the castle ruins.

Rinoa frowned, "It doesn't sound as awesome if you say it like—"

"Wait for it!" Eddy interrupted as the thunder pealed over the town.

**..:-X-:..**

**042 – Things Get Complicated**

The Traverse Town Tavern was almost empty. A few stragglers had holed up in the corner booths, and there were a few drunkards still passed out at a table or two. It was too early in the day for most people to be out drinking. Not that Cid was necessarily drinking. As much as he wanted to, he needed a clear head for this.

"Well, I've made my decision." Beverly said, standing on the other side of the bar counter and wiping down a mug.

Cid took a long drag from his cigarette, holding it for a moment before exhaling. "Cashews or pecans?" He glanced at the peanut bowls on some of the tables.

Beverly snorted. "No, smart ass."

"Then I give up." He said, looking measuredly at the burning end of the cigarette in his fingers.

She looked at him, set the mug down, and picked up another one to clean. A quiet beat passed, and after a moment, Cid tapped the ashes off of his cigarette into the ash tray.

"So the epic saga of Aerith and Cloud continues." He grunted sarcastically. "For once Aerith is the one dabbling in the dangerous crap and Cloud's the one flippin' shit about it."

Beverly didn't respond immediately, setting the cleaned cup down and fiddling with more glassware under the counter.

"I don't pretend to have an opinion," He snorted. "But that gal has had Cloud by the balls for years. I think it's about time she give him a dose of his own medicine, after all the times he's run off with no warnin'."

Beverly slapped her dish rag onto the counter, put one hand on her hip, and looked at him severely. Cid paused, cigarette in mid-drag, and looked back at her. Bitch Mode had just been activated, and he had no escape routes. He had clearly missed something.

"No, please go on." She said tersely. "Because you clearly have no opinion on the matter."

Cid narrowed one eye in confusion. "Huh?"

"I swear," Beverly cursed, "You rant and rave about how you don't care and you don't give a damn about their 'stupid, dramatic shit', and yet that's all you ever talk about. Them. Their lives and their problems."

"You got a thing against gossip?" He snorted, but quickly stopped, seeing the austere look on her face.

"I have a 'thing' against trying to have a conversation with you about us—"

"Don't use that word." Cid exhaled smoke.

"—and you do that!" Beverly pointed at him. "You just blow it off and ignore it."

"This—" Cid gestured between them. "Is not an 'us'. That was the agreement, remember?"

"Well, maybe we need to modify that contract. I didn't realize it was set in stone." Beverly snapped.

"What has you all pissed off all of a sudden?" Cid said, getting irritated now.

He had no qualms if other people were pissed at him; he practically made a habit out of it. But he hated not knowing why someone was being pissy. That was just annoying.

"I was trying to tell you that I made my decision about relocating." She huffed.

Cid looked at her. "And?"

"And—" She lifted her shoulders, "I decided to move my business to Radiant Garden."

He put out his cigarette. "Why?"

She threw up her arms. "I thought you'd be happy!"

"Why would this affect me?" He shot back.

"Oh, I don't know, because we talk on the phone every day and pretty much spend entire weekends having sex?" She barked.

A few of the stragglers glanced their way at her outburst.

"What?" She yelled at them.

They returned to their own conversations.

Cid stood from his stool. "What is your issue, here? I thought we agreed that—"

"Maybe…Maybe I'm not satisfied with the way things are. Would change be so bad?" She inhaled as soon as she said it, looking suddenly vulnerable. "I like you, Cid." Blood was quickly filling her face. "And I'm okay with liking you even more. But…SHIT…why do you have to make it so damn difficult?"

Cid stepped away from the bar. "I'm sorry, but I can't—"

"Cid." Beverly put her hands on the counter. "Look, okay, can we just talk about it at least? You owe me that much."

"I can't." He backed up farther. "This isn't—I'll call you later."

Then he turned and made a hasty exit. She didn't call after him. He got as far as the alley behind the tavern and threw his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out with his boot. He snarled and put his hands on the brick wall, persuading himself not to headbutt it.

"Shit."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"You got into my brain. You broke in and made yourself at home in a part of my mind where you were NOT welcome."_


	15. Paper Crane Wishes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake, McCallister, and Beverly. Like I mentioned last chapter, this chapter will serve as a sort of finale to the first arc of this story. Chapter 16 will begin the second arc. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Language warning for Cid's mouth. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**043 – Slip of the Tongue**

"I'm…I'm glad you called me." Aerith said sincerely, sitting huddled on the couch in Rinoa's and her apartment with the phone to her ear. "I was starting to think…"

She trailed off, preferring not to verbally complete that thought.

The other end of the line was quiet for a beat, then a low response. "Yeah."

Aerith rubbed the top of her knee. "How, uh, how have you been?"

"I've been okay." Cloud responded quietly. "You?"

She started to respond with the usual default: I'm fine, I'm all right, I'm okay, but stopped herself. This wasn't anybody she needed to have a wall around. This was Cloud, for all accounts and purposes her boyfriend. She should feel comfortable to let her guard down, even if he didn't extend her the same courtesy.

"I've been better." She confessed. "I got evicted from my apartment."

"Yuffie told me. Sorry." He replied.

She winced, "Yeah…I'm living with Rinoa now."

"…Why?" was his hesitant answer.

She blinked. "I got evicted—"

"I know that…but…why didn't you…talk to me about it?"

"Why didn't—" She inhaled sharply. "I didn't think you wanted to talk to me. It was right after our argument. You're not the easiest person to talk to, Cloud."

"It was an argument. Not…I mean, it wasn't like…the end." He stammered.

Aerith straightened a little in her seat. "Oh, I didn't think—" Yes, she totally had.

She had suspected that Cloud wanted out. He had always been a lone wolf, and she thought she could change him, break him in, get him used to the idea of opening up and being comfortable with sharing his emotions. She had basically wanted him to change his personality for her. She had feared that she had pushed him too far, and then with all of her research.

It wasn't so out of reach to ask him to bear with her while she explored this new part of her world, was it? Not after she had had to bear with him for those years when he was chasing Sephiroth. That was how relationships worked. Regardless of how emotional or closed off you were, this had to be how relationships worked. But hearing him admit it now, affirming that he hadn't been trying to get an out, lightened the burden on her heart.

"I would have helped you." He was saying.

"I know, but…how?" She asked.

There was a long pause.

"Well…I mean…You could have…I mean, I wouldn't have minded if you…if we…lived together…if you needed a place…"

Aerith sat bolt upright in her seat. "Y-you mean…us live together? Just…us?"

"…Er…"

Her heart was suddenly hammering in her chest. Live. Together. With. Cloud. Just the two of them. Sharing an apartment. A space. One kitchen. One bedroom. One living room. She stared at the poster on the wall of sunlight poring through trees in monochrome, not really seeing it at all. Panic was building in her entire body and she started hyperventilating. On the other end of the line, she could almost see Cloud frozen in the same ramrod position, eyes wide at what had just tumbled out of his mouth.

They weren't ready for that! What the heck was he proposing them moving in together for? Up until half an hour ago, she hadn't even though there was a 'them' to live together! They weren't solid or steady enough for that! The idea made her stomach turn to knots. They were barely…and with everything…there was no way…

"Do you like living with Rinoa?" He squeaked, sounding hopeful.

"Yes!" She burst out. "I really, really do."

The front door of the apartment swung open and Rinoa bounced in, gesturing wildly for Private McCallister to come in too. The soldier, however, was also on the phone.

"C'mon! Stay and hang out." Rinoa was begging.

"I can't…My landlord says there's an emergency at my apartment." McCallister was saying, and quickly made her escape.

"Living with Rinoa has been amazing." Aerith prattled on.

"Good, good." Cloud responded quickly. Too quickly. Like he was relieved.

Aerith smiled through her own relief, sinking back onto the couch. Bullet dodged. Rinoa gave her two thumbs up and headed back into her own bedroom.

"So…" Aerith rambled, eager to change the subject. "Um, I should probably go."

"Yeah, okay. Me too." Cloud said, sounding more relaxed now. Then, "Aerith?"

She smiled, more at ease now after hearing his voice. "Yes?"

"…I love you." He blurted. "Bye."

Then he abruptly hung up.

"You too." She replied and then also hung up…then froze solid again.

Wait, what had just happened?

**..:-X-:..**

**044 – Setting the Record Straight**

She had no right.

Cid missed his mouth with the top of the bottle and ended up nearly punching himself in the jaw with the bottle of whiskey. A splash of the alcohol spilled out and he cursed, wiping his mouth. The world tipped sideways as he stood from the pilot's seat. He staggered to remain upright and knocked the side of his fist against the wall of the cockpit. There was no way that he was flying back to Radiant Garden tonight.

He hadn't stopped drinking since the incident with Beverly last week. Booze helped drown the little voices in his head and all their little questions. Fucking questions. Questions like: WOULD change be so bad? How did she keep her hair so fucking RED? And, he had never had a lay like her in his life.

But that wasn't right, he cursed again and staggered out of the cockpit and into the cargo area of his Gummi Ship. She wasn't just a lay, was she? Dammit, not talking to her this week had been Hell. Just the act of not fucking TALKING to her had sucked. Sucked big, hairy balls. What was wrong with him? She had messed it up. Everything had been fucking perfect and then she had to go and get FEELINGS. Fuck feelings.

She had no fucking right.

And he had half a mind to tell her so to her ugly, gorgeous fuckin' FACE.

Well, he had HAD half a mind a few hours ago when he had landed the Gummi outside the entrance doors to Traverse Town. He had had half a mind to go in, sit down, have a civilized conversation with this woman, and get to the bottom of this. This…nonsensical idea of hers that they would…COULD possibly be anything more than what they were…which was fuck buddies. Fuck buddies was a simple relationship. Uncomplicated with shit like emotions and hurt.

And damn it all to fucking HELL that she was convincing him of it too.

Now, however, he had more than half a mind. He had just enough mind to convince him to get out of the Gummi, march up to her in the middle of her bar, in front of all the drunkards and everyone, and tell her that she was an idiot. That she was a fool for having feelings, and most of all a moron for having feelings for HIM.

Anybody with half a brain knew he was trouble in that department. Hell, at least Leon and Cloud were willing to work on it. Cid was an old dog set in his ways. He had learned painfully early on that that shit wasn't in the cards for him, and he was damn well comfortable with it.

And right after he finished this whiskey, he would tell her that to her stupid face. She could do better than him. She deserved better than him. He didn't want that mess. He didn't want to deal with the mess and the shit that came with relationships. He got front row seats on a daily basis to that. The emotionless sex was a nice break. Besides, what if they did change the agreement? And what if it all went to Hell? Then what? Then everything would stop. The phone calls, the inside jokes, the shared opinions and the ability to speak to someone in true confidence. Her horrible joke telling skills that made him laugh anyway. The way she always tried to be coy right before they hooked up, and the way she became suddenly shy after they were finished.

Dammit, he would miss that.

And she had put him in a situation where he basically had to choose between losing her now and losing her later. He wasn't gonna put up with that shit. He was going to go down there and set her straight and make her see reason.

With that thought swirling around in his drunken mind, Cid polished off the whiskey and left the Gummi. He somehow found his way from the docking bay to the Tavern without getting lost in the First District, though he nearly wiped out on a street lamp at one point. He decided to go around back for whatever reason, and knocked twice with loud, heavy knuckles before barging in anyway.

Beverly was in her apartment, wearing her reading glasses and poring over papers at the dining room table. She looked up abruptly when he barged in. "Cid."

"Listen!" He slurred, pointing at her and swaying on his feet.

"You're drunk." She exhaled, looking disappointed.

"Yes I am!" He stomped over to her. "I got summin' to say, and gahdammitall, yer gonna list'n!"

She stood as he approached, taking off her glasses and looking at him, a mix of apprehensive, fearful, and hopeful…FUCKING HOPEFUL. "Okay."

"I—" He roared, making a wild gesture.

This was it. He was gonna give her the what for now.

But whatever came after 'I' was lost in his foggy mind, and he could only think that she looked…hopeful. And it damn near stopped his heart.

He closed the distance between them and pulled her to him. She came willingly and he kissed her. He kissed her long and he kissed her good. She returned it and wrapped her arms around him. He picked her up and she immediately looped her legs around his waist.

They eventually broke apart for air, and she was smiling, breathless.

"I like you too." Cid drawled at her. "And it scares me shitless."

"Okay." She nodded, hands on either side of his face. "We can work on that."

"Later?" He suggested, already carrying her to the bedroom.

"Later." She agreed, clinging to him as he carried her, kissing him again.

**..:-X-:..**

**045 – Operation Paper Crane Part Three**

Of all the days…Tabaeus had nearly a dozen reports due tomorrow, and she was nowhere near done with any of them. And today, of all days, something happens at her apartment. The landlord cut off the phonecall with the mere instruction to: go see for yourself, before she swore she heard him chuckle and hang up.

So here, she was, finding her apartment door unlocked and ajar. Wary, she pushed the door open, already exasperated from the day's events before this. She looked up and her legs locked. She froze where she was, two steps in her doorway, eyes wide and staring.

Jake Alms stood in her living room. The confident, perpetual smirk was gone. The swagger in his posture was missing. Even the cheerful air that followed him around had disappeared. He was just…standing there. All of that she immediately noticed, and then she noticed everything else.

Masses of colorful wads of paper were hanging from her ceiling. Bright blues, oranges, reds, and greens, yellows, purples, and browns. Paper bunches in different sizes: from the size of a fist to the size of a binder clip. Utterly confused at the bizarre decorations, she looked past the mass of paper wads and instead focused on Jake.

"How—" She started.

"Leon." Jake started. "Gave me a spare key. He said you gave it to him…in case you ever locked yourself out or…something." He fidgeted. "I told him what I was doing, and he…gave it to me."

She mouthed soundlessly, unsure what to say or do.

Jake remained where he was. "I'm not…I don't want to make you uncomfortable—"

"You snuck into my apartment and decorated it." She said shakily.

"I got your landlord to call you, so you wouldn't be so shocked." He offered. "Please, let me get this out." He lifted his hands, "I don't want to trick you. I'm not trying to hurt you. I just…" He ran a hand through his hair, looking at her. "I can't get you out of my mind."

She stared at him.

"Maybe…maybe that's crazy to you, but it isn't crazy to me. You…I was fine. I was doing great the way I was living. Different girl every week. Parties every weekend. No regrets and no shame." He went on, and she was physically unable to stop him. "Then you got into my brain." He pointed at his temples. "You broke in and made yourself at home in a part of my mind where you were NOT welcome."

She continued to stare, bewildered at this side of him showing.

"And…And you didn't even know it. You couldn't even see…" He trailed away momentarily, getting his breath. "I think—I know—that you're so strong. So strong. You're independent and you're smart and you're beautiful."

Tabaeus stopped him there, moisture surprising her eyes at that word: beautiful. "No, I'm not." She averted her eyes to one of the paper wads.

"Yes. You are." Jake took one step toward her, no more. "I see you. And I see how beautiful you are. And…I don't want another notch on my board or another story to brag about. I'm not asking for anything."

"You're asking for everything." She held her arms around herself. "I can't—"

"I'm not asking you to." He sounded pained. "But you have…ruined my life in the most spectacular way." He smiled tentatively. "And I just want you to know…that if you ever find that you're tired of being strong all the time…that I want to be there. I can be strong for you. If you'll let me, that's my wish."

It was a bit of a strange phrase, and it jolted her mind as she stared at the paper wad in front of her. But, she registered, it wasn't a 'wad' at all. It was angular and pointed. The paper had been folded and bent and formed into what looked like a bird. She inhaled sharply and looked around her apartment again as it dawned.

There were one thousand paper cranes hanging from her ceiling.

Emotion choking her, she looked to Jake. "You—"

He held up his hands again, showing now several tiny red lines from a dozen paper cuts. "It took me two days straight." He said sheepishly.

"And—" Her voice faded.

"So I wish for you." He said plainly, looking at her in all seriousness.

The tears that had moistened her eyes began to break free and she swatted them away. She sniffed and cleared her throat.

"There's a superstition," She mumbled, "That a wish won't come true if you say it out loud."

Jake gave only a small smile. "Then how is anyone supposed to make it come true?"

Heart hammering, Tabaeus hesitated, and then slowly crossed over to him. When they were arms' length apart, she looked up at him, painfully aware of her security bubble still between them. Her skull buzzed and she wiped at her tears again, clearing them this time.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she stepped up and kissed him. Briefly and slightly off center in her haste, but he returned it all the same, without trying to pull her to him or hold her close. He just let her be as the quick kiss ended. The buzz spread down her entire body and she leaned forward, touching her forehead to his. Then she began to cry.

He held her then, gently, as they stood in her living room surrounded by paper cranes.


	16. Boys and Girls

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as is Dr. Kim and Yvonne. Just a sort of fun chapter this time around to introduce some of the new story arcs. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**046 – X's and Y's**

"Yes…No…No…Yes…I don't know…Maybe?...No, definitely yes…But—"

Dr. Polly Kim sat patiently in her seat, once again holding the wand of the ultrasound receiver against Tifa's belly while the couple argued. But that patience was drawing thin.

"Again, I feel compelled to remind you," She finally interrupted. "That you don't have to decide today. You still have four months."

Leon looked to Tifa. "It would make names, colors, and clothes much easier."

Tifa frowned, "Since when do you care about colors and clothes? And I thought we decided green? Besides, don't you want to keep some mystery alive?"

"Not when it comes to our baby, I don't." Leon said firmly. "I want to know everything I can so we can be prepared."

Tifa pouted, awkwardly folding her arms over the bump of her belly. "You're no fun."

Dr. Kim retracted the wand and put the machine away. Both Leon and Tifa looked at her.

"We hadn't decided yet." Leon prompted.

"I know, but I figured out the gender of your baby for myself while you were arguing." She said, adjusting her glasses. "Now it's just a matter of me telling you."

Tifa plugged her ears, "Leon, if you want to know, be my guest, but I don't."

Leon deadpanned and tugged one of her hands away. "I don't want to know if you don't want to know…but I really want to know." He bounced a little in his seat.

Tifa smirked at that, but remained resolved. "No. Listen, I'm reading up all I can about the whole labor and delivery experience, to eliminate as many what-ifs as possible and be as prepared as I can...But that's all for health preparations. Not knowing the gender is not going to hurt anything." She tried to reason with him.

Leon looked on the verge of pouting, but instead looked to Dr. Kim for help. The doctor chuckled and lifted her shoulders. He looked imploringly to Tifa, who shook her head, and then finally deflated.

"Fine, tell me." He looked to Dr. Kim, and then to Tifa, "You can just cover your ears if you want to."

She stuck her tongue out at him and plugged her ears again, even closing her eyes so that she wouldn't accidentally read their lips. Her thoughts immediately darted where they always darted. They had finally started on the nursery a few weeks ago. By 'started', they had really just dusted the vacant room, removed the boxes since the room had turned into a storage area, and picked a color for the walls.

She could already picture where the crib would go and what other furniture would go in the room. There was a wooden floor, so it would be easy to clean, and the room was right next to their master bedroom…though in all honesty, the crib would probably in their room anyway for the first little while.

Leon tapped her knee with two fingers and she opened her eyes, unplugging her ears. He looked, for lack of a better word, giddy. And that made her feel giddy, just for the look for sheer excitement on his face. But everything about this baby excited Leon.

"I take it you approve?" She laughed.

He bobbed his head, glancing at her middle before back to her.

She did her habitual climb off the exam table. They said their habitual thank yous and goodbyes to Dr. Kim, and did the habitual walk across the parking lot to their habitual spot. However, as soon as the door closed...

"Tell me."

Leon looked over at her, having just turned on the Jeep. "Tell you what?" He said with a wide grin. "Surely not that thing that you said you didn't want to know?"

Tifa glared at him lightly. "I changed my mind."

Leon lifted his chin, "Well, maybe I like knowing something that you don't about our baby. You know when HE or SHE moves and sleeps and all sorts of stuff."

"Really? You're jealous of me throwing up every morning for three weeks and craving pickle and peanut butter sandwiches?" She lifted an eyebrow. "Tell me and I will tell you where the missing chess piece is."

Leon's eyes widened. "I KNEW you did that on purpose!" He pointed at her.

Tifa smiled devilishly. "And if you don't tell me, then you'll never know where it is. Your chess set will forever miss one pawn, making the sides uneven. Asymetrical. Wrong." She taunted his OCD.

Leon twitched. "I hope she doesn't inherit your cruelty."

"Aha!" She pointed at him. "You said she!"

Leon smiled. "Yes I did."

It sunk in.

"We're having a girl?" Tifa said. "A daughter?"

Leon nodded again, and Tifa twisted in her seat, grabbing him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her as well, and they just sat there bouncing in their seats together in excitement.

And finally: "So where is the pawn?"

"Oh, Duke ate it." Tifa squealed happily, "You'll get it back in a few days."

**..:-X-:..**

**047 – Oh My God, Becky…**

"On three." Yuffie had to yell, even though Rinoa was sitting at the bar right beside her, over the blaring music of the club. "Three!"

Both women lifted the shot glasses to their lips, tossed their heads back, and downed the alcohol. With a hard swallow, Yuffie slapped the glass back to the bar and shook her head.

"Whew!" She exhaled.

Beside her, Rinoa choked and nearly gagged on the drink. Yuffie laughed and slapped her once on the back.

"Ugh, that is disgusting."

"Oh, you don't know disgusting." Yuffie cackled, flagging down the bartender. "Two tequila shots!"

Rinoa wiped her mouth, looking to Yuffie. "I thought that WAS tequila?!"

Yuffie shot her a playful look and bounced a little in her seat as they waited for their drinks, glancing out at the bustling dance floor. It was a big, shifting mess of bodies, sweat, glitter, and spilled alcohol. On a Friday night after a grueling session with the Council of the Alliance, this place was a beautiful sight. Returning her eyes to the bar, she made eye contact with a man farther down the bar. He had a working tan and biceps that only came from being too obsessed with how one looked in a mirror. He winked at her and lifted his beer bottle in a toast.

The bartender set the shots on the counter, and Yuffie took hers up, lifting it in a reciprocal toast to the man. Then, keeping her eyes on him, she provocatively slid her tongue around the rim of the glass, licking the salt away from it before downing the shot in one swallow. Feeling it burn down her throat, she plucked the lime slice off the glass and sucked on it, winking back at him. Then, just as abruptly as the flirting started, she turned back to her other side, where Rinoa was looking warily at her own shot.

"You just gotta do it. Don't think about it." Yuffie said, indicating the shot.

Rinoa scrunched her nose. "If you say so."

"I do say so." Yuffie bobbed her head.

She watched Rinoa mimic her, licking the salt and downing the shot. Rinoa clenched her eyes closed as she swallowed difficultly. Making a strained noise, she straightened and gave Yuffie a pained look.

"Now the lime." Yuffie gestured.

"Ugh, really?" Rinoa groaned, but popped the lime between her lips, squinting her eyes again at the sourness.

Yuffie spun around and hopped off the stool, "Okay, now let's go dance."

"Yuffie, I don't know if I can even stand—"

"Then find a guy who can hold you up while you grind on him—"

"Yuffie!"

"What? Some guys like that." Yuffie shrugged, scouting already. Spotting her prey, she grabbed Rinoa's hand and tugged her to her feet. "C'mon, I promised you a fun night."

Steeling herself, Rinoa staggered to balance. "You're right. Okay."

It didn't take much effort to convince the prey in Yuffie's crosshairs—a thickly built man with stubble and flaming red hair—and his buddy—another lumberjack of a man with a shaved head—to escort them to the dance floor. After all, she and Rinoa had dressed to kill, and it was a Friday night. They were close enough to being drunk that they felt sexy as all Hell, so Yuffie just went with it. Rinoa had a little harder time 'just going with it', which surprised Yuffie.

Yuffie and her red haired lumberjack didn't bother with names, and they were soon just dancing away. His hands went around her hips as she pressed her back against his chest, swaying with the thundering bass of the music. She looked over to Rinoa, who was staring right back at her with wide eyes that screamed 'what do I do?!' as her dance partner tried to dance up against her.

She winked at Rinoa and rolled her spine with the beat of the music, baring her neck and sliding her hands up her body and into her hair. The other woman looked like she was trying to mimic her again. Yuffie chuckled; why was Rinoa being so awkward about this? She was acting like she'd never been to a club before…

Then, before her eyes, she almost saw it click—maybe not in her head, but in muscle memory—and Rinoa fell into the rhythm of the dance. Yuffie beamed, proud of her little apprentice.

"Unleash your inner slut, baby!" Yuffie yelled over the music and was heard by no one.

They danced through the duration of the song, and as the next song started to transition into a slow one, Yuffie detached with a wink to her partner.

"I don't do slow dances." She said playfully.

He smirked. "Aw, I'd make it worth your while." He winked.

Yuffie snickered and looked over to Rinoa, who was looking all too comfortable with her own slow dance with her dance partner. Yuffie pursed her lips, canted her head, and offered her hand back to the red haired man.

"Well…I guess one slow dance never hurt anyone."

**..:-X-:..**

**048 – Cats and Dogs**

"Thank you so much for this."

Aerith barely heard the woman, lifting the grey cat from the box. "Oh, you are so fluffy." She chortled at the feline and looked to the woman. "Hm?"

Yvonne, one of Beverly's employees at Traverse Town, nibbled on a fingernail. "I just can't keep her anymore. My little brother has an allergy, and I didn't want to drop him off at the shelter—"

"Your brother?" Aerith teased.

Yvonne sighed, "The cat. His name's Bosco, but you can change it if you want. He doesn't respond to names anyway. Sorry, I never got around to training him to do…anything." She fidgeted. "But he has all of his shots."

"Great, great." Aerith said, nuzzling up on the cat's fluffy grey fur.

The cat made a low mewling noise in the back of his throat, and Aerith couldn't tell if it was a purr or a snarl. Aerith looked to Yvonne. "I'll take good care of him."

Aerith walked with the cat in her arms from where she had met Yvonne to pick him up outside the Gummi Hangar. She hadn't…quite…talked to Rinoa about bringing a pet to the apartment. When she had talked to Rinoa that morning, the other woman had been severely hungover and spent the morning bowing to the porcelain god in the bathroom. So Rinoa's garbled 'yeah, sure, whatever' had probably just been code for 'leave me alone to die.'

For that reason, Aerith decided to waste time around Radiant Garden until Rinoa had recovered enough to have a real conversation about this. If it turned out her roommate was allergic to cats also…she would figure something out. She doubted Rinoa would be against having the cat if she wasn't allergic. They dog-watched Duke for Leon and Tifa all the time, and they both adored that dog…

"What should I name you?" Aerith chirped as she stopped at the Borough. "Bosco sounds like a dog name…" She pondered.

She popped into Merlin's house and found no one home. Sitting on the couch, she set the cat in her lap and took her cell phone out of her pocket. The cat immediately climbed off of her, scampered to the entire other side of the couch, settled down, and glared at her.

Aerith snorted. "Fine, be that way." She texted Rinoa to verify that it would be okay to bring a cat home and waited for a reply.

She then looked to the cat. "Jewel…Ruby…Toby…Angel?"

At the suggested names, the cat seemed to growl and turn his body so that his back was facing her. Aerith snickered and reached out, petting him anyway. The cat tensed and then got up, hopping off the couch and instead going to curl up on the recliner on the opposite side of the room.

"How about Cloud?" Aerith chuckled at the cat's behavior.

The phone buzzed beside her and she picked up.

"Hello?"

"My clothes don't fit." Tifa greeted flatly.

Aerith canted her head. "Well…that does tend to happen with pregnancy."

She heard Tifa exhale on the other end. "Most of my shirts are getting tight, but all of my pants are just…blugh."

Aerith pursed her lips, well aware of Tifa's affinity for tight pants. Well, if Aerith had child bearing hips like that, she would too…Irrelevant.

"Anyway, I'm going shopping tomorrow for official maternity clothes. You want to tag along?" Tifa prompted.

Aerith squinted one eye, going over her mental schedule. "I'm sorry, I'm in meetings all day tomorrow for negotiating more funding for my department." She paused. "Do you know if Rinoa is a cat person?"

There was a pause.

"She's a dog person. Why?"

"I…sort of just adopted a cat."

"Sort of?"

"Well, I already bought him a collar and I'm trying to decide on a name."

"Uh huh…I hate cats."

Aerith huffed. "Well, then you don't have to help me name him."

"Tch, fine, you won't get to help me name my daughter."

Aerith balked. "I never said I hated babies. You said hate, not me!...Daughter?" She sat up.

"Got the news yesterday!" Tifa chirped. "And no, name is still not picked out. Leon apparently wants to traumatize our child with an embarrassingly creative, weirdly spelled name."

"Oh surely it's not that bad. This cat's original name was Bosco."

"Well, there's a coincidence…"

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **I hate cats. I'm a dog person. Don't try to defend cats to me. I just don't like 'em.

I kept thinking of the ballroom scene of FFVIII while writing 047. I always figured Rinoa knew how to shake it, but only in a structured dance kind of way: tango, waltz, that stuff. Just jumping out there and gyrating—which is pretty much the club scene nowadays, in my experience—would be a new thing for her. As opposed to Yuffie, who just follows the mantra of 'just dance like you've got a wedgie and are trying to fix it without using your hands.'

In other news, if you've read any of my stories that mention or take place down the road for the Restoration Committee, Leon and Tifa having a daughter shouldn't be a surprise. If you haven't read them…surprise! XD

**Preview for next week:** _"A person does not live and die by their name. It doesn't need to be this overly artistic, unique, weird title with unnecessary y's in it. Our daughter will be perfectly capable of being unique and awesome all on her own, not because of what her name is."_


	17. Creating Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as is McCallister. Some more fun in this chapter, as well as some more development into a part of the story I've kind of accidentally been ignoring. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**049 – Kindred Souls**

Cid was halfway through his pack of cigarettes for the day and was not in the mood for this. He crossed the floor of the Gummi garage to the pair of legs that was sticking out from under one of the ships. The soldier was on a rolling backboard under the ship, tinkering. Holding the unlit cigarette between his teeth, he stomped one foot between the soldier's knees and slid the board out, soldier and all.

With a grunt, he looked down and glared at Private Tabaeus McCallister, who was still holding the wrench above her head in mid-twist, and the protective goggles on her face making her eyes disturbingly magnified. He started slightly at her appearance but just as quickly frowned and folded his arms.

"The Hell are you doing here?"

"I'm working." She grunted, not moving from her position.

"This ain't your department no more." Cid gestured to the garage around him. "You're back in Leon's bullpen, remember? Go tinker there."

McCallister sighed and sat up. "He and Commander Lockhart are having a…verbal disagreement…in the Weapons Department."

Cid quirked an eyebrow. "So they're arguing."

"Loudly." The soldier grunted, "And I accidentally took sides so I got kicked out."

Cid snorted, but wasn't surprised. Leon and Tifa had been in their little to-be-parents bubble for so long, everybody around them had to be getting cavities. Sure, Cid wasn't happy to hear that they were arguing, but at least that meant they were talking seriously about this kid now…instead of just an explosion of parental joy and fluffy words. Honestly, the other day Cid could have sworn Leon was about to hug him…and Cid would hate to bitch slap a man who was going to be a father in a few months.

"What were they fighting about?"

McCallister just shook her head. "I'll get out of your hair."

Cid noted the bags under the woman's eyes as she stood and straightened her fatigues. He tapped a cigarette out of his pack, offering it to her. She paused, looking at the offered cigarette and then looking at him. One of her eyebrows shot sky high.

"One of your precious cancer sticks?" She questioned.

"You've been in direct contact with Leon in Papa Bear mode, and you've had Jake breathing down your neck in Casanova mode. Just take the damn thing." Cid said hotly.

McCallister blinked and then softened, taking it. "Thanks."

Cid plucked the cigarette from his own lips and patted his pockets. "Ah, damn. Out of matches." He reached back and snatched up the wand from the welding equipment, flicking it on and holding it away from his person, lighting his cigarette off of it. McCallister chuckled and lit her cigarette off the blow torch as well. He killed the gas and set the wand back, taking a long drag from the cigarette.

"Didn't know you smoked." He said, leaning against the Gummi that she had been working on.

"Why'd you offer then?" She said, exhaling smoke and coughing at the end of it.

He shrugged. "Figured I had a 50-50 shot that you did…and you look like Hell."

"Hn. Thanks." She said flatly at the remark.

"So what's your damage?" He asked, folding his arms and looking up at the ceiling. "Jake busted his ass to ask you out and you kept turning him down."

"I eventually agreed. Even kissed him." She admitted, as though to appease him.

Cid looked at her. "On purpose?"

She laughed at that and Cid realized that he'd never heard her laugh before. Chuckle or snort, sure, but never a real laugh. It was a very feminine sounding laugh, and it was equally strange to associate the woman with…feminine qualities. He blinked at her.

"Yes, sir." She flicked ash off the end of the cigarette and took another inhale from it. "What's your damage with Beverly?"

Cid tensed and looked at the ceiling again. "No damage."

"You prodded at me. I get to prod at you."

"Says who?" He snapped at her.

She looked impassive at his irritated tone. "Me. If I can get my head out of my ass, then you can do the same."

"It's not the same. You're young. You're supposed to do stupid shit."

"Bull." She put the cigarette out on the ground with her boot.

Cid glared at her. "You're kind of a bitch, you know that?"

She smirked. "Why do you think Commander Leonhart keeps me around?"

"You been his subordinate for over five years now, and I never heard you use his first name. Ain't it time you dropped the 'Commander' thing?" He said curtly.

McCallister straightened, "Call Beverly." She walked away.

"Bitch." He called after her, but there was no heat in it. "Stay out of my garage!"

She simply waved without looking back, leaving the garage.

**..:-X-:..**

**050 – Shopping Day**

"Whoa." Yuffie stood in front of the mirror in the fitting room, holding the stretchy top of the maternity jeans as far from her actual waist line as it was built to do. "Dude, I'm never having kids. Look at this. I can't even see my feet!"

In her own changing stall, Tifa exhaled. "Then stop trying on maternity clothes, Yuffie. You're a twig anyway. Those clothes aren't supposed to fit you."

"And they're supposed to fit YOU?" Yuffie gawked, standing so that she could see her own profile in the mirror now. "Being this fat is gonna suck!"

"It's not 'fat'." Tifa opened the stall door and stepped out, checking herself out in the mirror and turning. "Well…these fit."

"Just be grateful you aren't huge." Yuffie said, hopping into her changing room and hopping out of large pants and back into her own shorts.

"Yuffie, I'm just 5 months in. Give me another four months. I could be enormous." Tifa said, frowning at the pants that she was trying on and going back into the stall to try another pair. "My ankles will probably swell up. I'll have heart burn all the time. Back aches. The baby'll probably be kicking me all hours of the day and night. I'll get trapped sitting in couches and need help getting out…"

Yuffie leaned against the wall of the fitting room while Tifa looked at herself in another pair of pants. She grimaced. "Don't take offense here…but being pregnant sounds like it sucks. I'll admit, it was funny when you were eating pickle-peanut butter-and scrambled egg sandwiches…but is it really gonna be worth it?"

Tifa chuckled. "You're just jealous because I am a vessel of life, and my belly is cute."

"Hey, populate the planet as much as you like. It ain't MY hips taking the beating." Yuffie held up her hands. Then she added. "I know I promised not to ask but…why is the name topic off limits?"

Tifa huffed, going into her stall to change to another outfit. "Because Leon is being ridiculous about the whole thing. We have four months to come up with a name, but he's acting like we need to make a decision immediately."

Yuffie canted her head, "And that's…enough to argue over?"

Tifa poked her head out, "The names he's mentioned are horrific." She finished buttoning up the blouse she was trying on and stepped out to the mirror. "I've never heard so many bizarre syllable combinations in my life. I think he read a baby name book while high or something."

Yuffie squinted one eye. "And what do you consider a good name?"

"Something simple." Tifa said, rubbing a hand across the bump over her stomach as she looked at how the shirt fit in the mirror. "A person does not live and die by their name. It doesn't need to be this overly artistic, unique, weird title with unnecessary y's in it. Our daughter will be perfectly capable of being unique and awesome all on her own, not because of what her name is."

"This is Leon we're talking about." Yuffie remarked. "The guy who changed his name out of shame when we lost Radiant Garden the first time." She lifted her shoulders. "He puts a lot of stock in names."

Tifa sighed and looked at her. "I hadn't thought about that." She swallowed compulsively and looked at the ceiling. "God, I didn't think about that."

Yuffie just fiddled with the strings on her boots as Tifa battled the tears again. This had become an almost humorous—no, definitely already humorous—event that had been spontaneously happening all day. The smallest things were making the woman overly emotional. Yuffie knew it was the pregnancy hormones—not that she'd dare say anything about it—so she just let Tifa have her moment and then move on.

"Do you have any names that you agree on?" She offered when Tifa had composed herself once more.

"Not a one." Tifa shook her head, changing back into her original clothes and picking up the stack that she'd decided to purchase. "But we agreed that no name we pick will have an X in it."

Yuffie nodded sagely. "Wise decision."

Tifa purchased her items and Yuffie bought a hat ("It has moose antlers on it! How can you think that's not cool?!") and then hit a few more stores before taking a triumphant stop at an outdoor café to revel in their spoils.

"That hat looks ridiculous." Tifa said over a glass of lemonade.

Yuffie beamed carelessly. "I like it. I think it looks awesome."

"And you wonder why you're single?"

"Hey, I bet I could pick up a guy wearing this hat."

Tifa looked over the rim of her glass at her.

Yuffie straightened, "Challenge accepted."

"You just challenged yourself." Tifa said flatly.

"You cried over a pair of green shoes earlier." Yuffie shot back.

Tifa lowered her face, "They were just so uuuuuuuuuugly." She whimpered.

Yuffie spotted a handsome passerby and whistled. "Hey, stud. Wanna be the Rocky to my Bullwinkle?"

He looked bewildered and hastily walked away. Yuffie shot finger pistols in the air, and Tifa laughed. Yuffie abruptly looked at her.

"Bullwinkle wasn't on Leon's last of possibilities, was it?"

**..:-X-:..**

**051 – A Fork in the Road**

Aerith felt sweat rolling down her forehead and fought to maintain her concentration. She had chosen the Dark Depths as her place to experiment with the undercurrent this time. There were an abundance of rocks and inorganic matter, allowing her to focus only on the small potted sapling that she'd brought with her to practice on.

When she had penetrated the light current in the old trees weeks earlier, the history and the life of the tree had been so ingrained and time-worn, that were was no surprise really that she had been overwhelmed. Well, she was still skeptical about Cloud's claim that she had been screaming. Why would she scream at something as beautiful as this?

Feeling the light flooding her being, Aerith endured past it to push her mind into the fabric of the tree in the pot in front of her. She could see the light with her mind, as well as with her eyes this time. A ten foot pillar of curling, green-white smoke extending skyward, it had begun to splinter deviant forks of energy outward, parallel to the ground, like branches on a tree. It was like a tree of light in front of her. She had done this. She had willed this to happen. And…to a degree…she was CONTROLLING it.

Something shifted in her perception and she physically staggered, keeping her arms forward and her hands outstretched to try and stabilize it. Something had changed. A power spike. Gritting her teeth, she tried to keep her focus and control the flux. The problem with controlling this energy was that it wasn't submissive. Darkness was submissive. It wanted to be controlled, to be used, to be the catalyst for power and evil and selfish ends. Light was more reluctant to lend itself to being a tool or a weapon.

Not that Aerith had any intention of using it in such a way, but that reluctance did make channeling it difficult.

Unable to handle it anymore, she cried out as she felt it burn her palms. She brought her hands together and drifted her fingertips off center from aiming at the plant, instead aiming to a harmless wall of the rock that was part of the Dark Depths. The light jettisoned out as the pillar of energy around the sapling imploded and burst outward in a small lightning flash of a mushroom cloud.

Aerith shielded her eyes from the discharge and waited for the mild smoke to clear, waving her hand through the air before inspecting her palms. They were red, but not burned. She had gotten too close to it this time. The undercurrent's consciousness hadn't appreciated that…Because it was a consciousness, wasn't it? She had seen that with her own eyes, felt that with her own soul when her mind made contact with the essence in the trees. The whole thing was alive, and she was essentially poking it with a stick and trying to put a collar on it.

Getting her bearings back, she looked at the potted plant in front of her. Only it wasn't a potted plant anymore.

The sapling had burst out of the meager little orange pot. Roots had overpowered it, bubbling over the top and shattering the ceramic, driving deep into the rocky floor of the Dark Depths, as though it had been working at it for decades. The trunk of the sapling had widened from the width of a billiard stick to nearly the width of a grown, mature tree, complete with hardened bark.

Branches extended outward, forming a rich green canopy that cast a shade over the rocks. The rocks, that is, that weren't covered by the field of white flowers that seemed to appear every time Aerith failed to harness the power of the light. The undercurrent seemed to be taunting her with those flowers.

You failed…again. Here are some pretty flowers to make you feel better. Mwahaha.

Okay, maybe without that little laugh at the end, Aerith frowned and walked around the tree.

The roots extended far back to the wall where Aerith had discharged the sudden power fluctuation. They had split the stone wall and were burgeoning with vines and green tufts of new life as they had climbed the wall.

One tall, brilliant, green tree surrounded by the barren, purple and red rocks of the Dark Depths. Some life standing defiant in this little haven of wasteland. No trees grew beyond the town perimeter. There was simply no soil nor any consistent water to nourish life. It had all been ripped away during the invasion and the subsequent war. Aerith looked from the proud canopy to the roots, digging like drills through the stone.

There was no water here. No soil. No decent living conditions for a plant. This tree, this beautiful thing that she had created…was going to die here. A sense of sadness stabbed at her heart and she reached out, touching the bark. Darkness had scorched the land of her world, rendering it almost a wasteland. The Restoration Committee and now the Alliance was working on bringing it back to its former, nature-filled glory, but these things took time. So much time.

Aerith kept a stiff upper lip, stepping toward the edge of the Dark Depths and looking down. Geysers had proven to be the only substantial form of water beyond the town limits, and she could see them bubbling and frothing far below. She looked back to her tree and then returned her gaze to the geysers below. If she could find a way to channel that water…use the light undercurrent to create some kind of irrigation or aquaduct system…she could potentially speed up the regeneration process of her home world!

Intoxicated by the possibility, she quickly darted back to where she had left her research notebook, the third that she had gone through so far, and immediately began jotting down ideas.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _The little boy looked up at Rinoa with a contemplative expression. "Are you gonna be my new mom?"_


	18. Surprises and Mood Swings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Eddy, Parker, and Jake. More subplots poke their heads in with this chapter. Enjoy. There are also a few suggestive implications in this chapter, but nothing explicit. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**052 – What They Say About Assuming**

Rinoa backed into her supervisor's office, holding two cups of coffee in one hand and a cup of orange juice in the other. Okay, she understood why some people avoided coffee, but it was too early in the morning to be stringent about caffeine. Still, whoever Eddy was meeting with this morning was such a stickler. Far be it for her to argue. It might be the head of the entire IT department, for all she knew…

"Sorry, I'm late." She greeted, turning as she opened the door with her hip, hands full. "The café was overrun with people from Aerith's department. I think they're taking their exams today. I've never seen so many baggy eyes in all my li—" She paused.

Eddy looked up from his newspaper, adjusting his glasses to gauge her sudden halt. Rinoa wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the little boy who was perched on one of the chairs on the other side of Eddy's desk. He looked to be around eight years old and was swinging his legs back and forth as he peered back at Rinoa's entrance.

"You okay?" Eddy interrupted her brain-fart.

"Er—yeah, sorry." Rinoa shook her head, "I guess I wasn't expecting—When you said you had a meeting with someone, I assumed—"

Eddy shrugged, "I have to say 'meeting' so nobody bugs me about it. This is Parker, my son. Parker, this is Rinoa." He introduced, "She's the new employee who keeps breaking computers."

Rinoa scoffed at that, setting the drinks on his desk, but kept her own coffee to herself. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Nice to meet you." Parker offered his hand like a little gentleman.

Rinoa smiled and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you too."

Parker leaned toward Eddy. "Is she the one who put a laptop in the freezer?"

Rinoa's eyes widened and she looked from the little boy to Eddy. He smirked and spread his hands innocently.

Parker offered a mischievous grin. "You know that doesn't work."

Rinoa frowned, "Yes, I learned that pretty quickly, kid."

Eddy stood, "Okay, so I hate to do this, but I just got a page from Clancy at the Security System mainframe computer. She said it's flatlining. Could you…watch him for a few minutes while I go put a fire out?" He asked with an apologetic tone.

Rinoa hesitated, "Y-you mean…babysit?"

"I'm not a baby. I'm nine years old." Parker quickly corrected her.

"Please, it'll only take ten, fifteen minutes tops." Eddy pleaded.

Rinoa chewed the side of her lip. "Uh…sure, I…guess."

"Thanks." Eddy was already heading toward the door. "Parker, behave for Miss Heartilly, okay?"

"I always behave." But the kid's grin said otherwise.

Rinoa felt helpless, but Eddy gave her a thumb up on his way out. "Thanks again. I'm sorry. I'll be right back, promise."

Then he was gone, and Rinoa was left alone with Parker.

The little boy picked up his orange juice and took a drink from it. "I thought you'd be blond. Aren't blonds supposed to be—"

"Watch it." Rinoa pointed at him, sitting in another chair in Eddy's office. "I'm not a dumb blond. I know plenty of smart blonds, actually. I'm just not that great with computers yet."

"Then why are you in the computer department?" Parker tilted his head.

"Yet." Rinoa emphasized, folding her arms defensively. "Your dad is teaching me."

It was weird to think that Eddy was a father. She couldn't put her finger on why; he was a perfectly nice man, even if he wasn't much to look at and got a little nerdy sometimes when it came to his precious laptops…

"He talks about you a lot." Parker remarked.

Well, I wish I could say the same, Rinoa thought, saying. "Yeah?"

"You're shorter than Dad's last girlfriend."

Rinoa balked. "Wait, what? No, I'm not—"

The little boy looked up at Rinoa with a contemplative expression. "Are you gonna be my new mom?"

"No, sweetie. I'm not." She said.

Okay, so that made Eddy either a divorcee or a widower…or a really lousy husband, if he had girlfriends, but Rinoa didn't see that happening. What in Kingdom Hearts had Eddy been telling this kid about her that would give Parker that idea?

"Okay." Parker shrugged, "You're kinda skinny anyway."

"Watch it, kid." Rinoa pointed at him again.

"So if you're not good at computers…yet…what are you good at?" Parker asked.

"I make a mean cup of orange juice, don't you think?" Rinoa gestured to his cup.

"You bought this."

"So sue me." Rinoa folded her arms, but smirked when Parker laughed at her.

**..:-X-:..**

**053 – Matchmaker**

"You're welcome." Jake interrupted Yuffie's lunch hour, dropping into the seat across from her at the outdoor café.

She looked up from her sandwich. "Hello to you too, Jake."

He flashed her a cheeky grin and folded his arms on the table. Yuffie chewed slowly, staring right back at him. He was waiting for her to ask…

"Why should I be thanking—"

"I have found a man for you!" He interrupted eagerly.

Yuffie groaned and swallowed her bite, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I wasn't aware I had hired a matchmaker."

"See, that's a perk of being my friend. This is a free service I offer." He beamed. "So I have this friend named Trevor—"

"Nope." Yuffie took another bite of sandwich. "I do not need dating advice."

"This isn't advice. This is a blind date, carefully selected, organized, and set up by yours truly." Jake pointed his thumbs at himself.

"No." She reinforced, taking another bite and then speaking around a full mouth of sandwich, "I ca'geh' mah own man."

Jake looked at her flatly. "Yeah…I had to fight through the line of men waiting to get sprayed with your lunch."

Yuffie swallowed again. "Smart ass. I thought you were all busy wooing McCallister?"

"It's a work in progress." Jake smiled. "Now I just want to spread the joy of love."

"Ugh, I'm eating here." Yuffie gestured to her sandwich. "Take your sappy somewhere else. I'm not buying."

"But Trevor is, like, perfect for you!" Jake flailed.

"Not interested." Yuffie took a drink from her soda. "I like the single life. I do what I want, go where I want, for however long I want. I don't need no man!" She snapped her fingers.

"Fine, fine, I get it. You are woman, I hear you roar." Jake waved her off. "But, c'mon, he's one of my best friends."

"I have never even heard you mention this dude before." Yuffie wiped her hands on her napkin. "Go away. And take your sappy with you."

"I'm not sappy. I'm a man in love!"

"Have you and McCallister even been on that date you finally got out of her?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow.

"Like I said…work in progress."

"So that's a no."

"She's busy."

"She's uninterested."

"Tabaeus is like a turtle." Jake lifted his hands, as though framing a large picture between them. "She's got this shell around her that's all rough and lumpy, but she's a softie inside."

"Fun fact: women don't like to be called lumpy. Go with curvy." Yuffie advised.

"Anyway," Jake spoke over her. "I think you and Trevor would totally gel together."

"And I think I didn't ask to be set up. I can get my own dates."

"And yet you don't."

"Because I LIKE being single." Yuffie said. "I have front row seats to any relationship I want. I get to live vicariously through," She lifted one finger, "The married couple with Leon and Tifa," She lifted another finger, "The awkward couple with Aerith and Cloud," She lifted another finger, "And the scandalous couple with Cid and Beverly."

"So what does that make me and Tabs?" Jake pried.

"The I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it couple." Yuffie remarked.

"C'mon!" Jake smacked the table. "A few weeks ago you were the biggest cheerleader for Tabake."

"Tabake?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow.

"Y'know, celebrity couples get cute names with their names mixed together. Tabaeus and Jake: Tabake."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Yuffie finished her sandwich. "What, like…Leon and Tifa would be…Tion, or...Lefa or something?"

"Cid and Beverly would be…Bevid or…maybe Civerly?"

Yuffie squinted one eye, "Cloud and Aerith…Aeroud? No…Clourith? Clerith?"

"And now I'm working on Yevor." He pointed at her.

"No."

"Fine…Treffie."

"Jake. I'm not going on a blind date, especially if YOU set it up."

"Ooh! Tabake and Treffie should double date sometime!"

"I am trying to eat here!"

**..:-X-:..**

**054 – Mood Whiplash**

Leon stared up at the ceiling, out of breath and bewildered. He wasn't…sure…but he might have dislocated a joint there at some point. Everything felt sort of numb. Lying beside him on the bed, where she'd rolled off of him, Tifa was also breathing heavily, but almost giggling as she got her breath back.

They had been together officially for two years…and THAT had never happened. He was good…but he doubted he was THAT good…

"Did you—" He said aimlessly.

Tifa exhaled. "Yeah."

He didn't look at her, content to stare at the ceiling…slightly worried what might happen to his spine if he tried to move.

"Five times?" He gawked.

"Yeah." Tifa breathed, running a hand through her hair.

"That—" Leon blinked, "Is that…normal?"

Tifa giggled, fiddling with the bed sheets over her chest. "Sorry." She said, not looking sorry at all, but rather mischievous actually.

"No, no." Leon managed to lift a hand, waving absently. "That was just…"

"Wow." She input.

"…in a word."

Dr. Kim had told them—warned them, more like—that sometimes pregnancy hormones would get…intense…but…

"Five times?" He repeated, rolling his head across the pillow to look at her.

Tifa giggled again and rolled onto her side, giving him an impish look. "Want to make it six?"

Leon balked at her. "Tifa…I love you, but I've got a meeting in the morning…I'm going to need all of my blood…in my brain."

She smiled, leaning in and kissing his neck. "Aw, c'mon…" She worked her way up his jaw. "Meetings are overrated."

Leon swallowed and stared up at the ceiling. This was the third night in a row…He just couldn't keep up with her at this rate. He was more than willing to try, but the busy season of missions was upon the Alliance this week, and he simply couldn't be half awake at the meetings. Not to mention he needed to be able to walk straight.

"Skip it." She murmured as she kissed him.

"I can't." He groaned. "I need protein."

Mustering up any willpower he had left, he slid out of bed and away from Tifa. She sat up and ruffled her hair again, looking disappointed but not offput. Leon pulled on some pants and staggered downstairs. It was almost three am. He had to be at the boardroom in four hours. That left barely three hours for actual sleep. Just thinking about it made his joints ache. At that point, was it really worth it to TRY to sleep? Considering he was looking at a 14 hour day coming up…yes, yes it was.

After downing a few shots of orange juice and vitamin pills to keep the crash at bay, he went back upstairs, careful to stretch his recovering knee gingerly as he did so. When he returned to the bedroom, Tifa was lying on her side in bed, curled up and with an almost visible storm cloud over her head.

With a sigh, Leon climbed back into bed and rolled over, putting an arm around her. She scooted away with a huff. Leon just withdrew and rolled onto his back again. Tifa had gone from happy to sad to aroused to furious to crying to happy again so often in the past few weeks, that the whiplash didn't even faze him anymore.

Still, it would be difficult for him to get any restful sleep if she was bitter at him. He looked at her curled back and reached out, stroking the back of two fingers across her shoulders. She huffed again, but didn't move away at the touch. So she was irritated, but she wasn't pissed at him at least. He gave her elbow a light, playful pinch and started to roll away, but Tifa caught his wrist before he withdrew and tugged him back.

There she was.

Leon breathed a short sigh of relief at her quick mood swing away from irritated to…probably too tired to be irritated. He moved onto his side and let her tug his arm around her ribs again. She felt warm and comfortable, so it wasn't difficult for Leon's eyelids to start winning the battle. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder before settling down to sleep.

She still felt a little tense, but the mood swing had left her alone for now. Tifa had always had a penchant for abrupt mood changes, though never as abrupt or out of the blue as they had been so far while she was pregnant. The idea flitted through his head that their daughter might inherit that tendency.

He opened his eyes in the darkness of the bedroom. That meant that eventually he was going to have a Tifa and a mini-Tifa ranting and crying at the same time at some point. Well…there was always the chance that she would inherit HIS moods…Kingdom Hearts help them if that happened.

Leon unconsciously held Tifa closer, his hand draped around her stomach. If either of those cases were true, he was going to have to have a talk with the local convenience store about ice cream discounts…

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"What kind of weirdo conversations are you two having back here?"_


	19. Yuffie has a Blind Date

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs sprinkled throughout. Awkward chapter is intentionally awkward. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**055 – Mountain Climbing**

"It's not a big deal."

"How can you say that?!"

"Every woman does it at some point. Maybe some men too, but I wouldn't know about that."

"Ugh…" Aerith covered her reddening face with her hands, slouching in her seat.

Across the table from her, elbow-deep in a bowl of ice cream, Tifa was amused. "Don't be embarrassed."

"But it was EMBARRASSING."

"For who?" Tifa snorted. "Certainly not Cloud, unless you told him."

Aerith looked horrified at the mere idea, "There was no way I was going to tell him!"

Tifa lifted her shoulders, "Then it's just a little secret between you and yourself…and me, I guess." When her friend continued to look ashamed, Tifa canted her head, "I've done it. Yuffie's probably done it. I'm sure McCallister's done it."

Aerith looked tempted to cover her ears. "I think he knows."

Tifa snorted, "This is CLOUD we're talking about. He wouldn't know I was pregnant if Leon wasn't practically pouncing on him with every new ultrasound picture." She said, pointing to her growing belly. "Trust me, he doesn't suspect anything."

"You seem a little certain of that." Aerith sounded suddenly suspicious.

Tifa just sent her a cheeky grin and took another bite of her ice cream. The two were hiding out in Yuffie's office in order to avoid two things. One was people who, noticing now the undeniable pregnancy bump of Tifa's stomach, kept congratulating her and trying to talk about all things baby to her. The second was Jake Alms. He and McCallister had finally gone on their agreed date, and apparently it hadn't gone quite to plan. Since then, the man had been asking for every woman's opinion on the matter that he could find, which was generally Tifa or Aerith, as he tended to loiter around Merlin's house. Yuffie's office was rarely used by the younger woman—it was practically just a desk with a few files in it and an outdated computer—and those in Yuffie's department knew not to look for her there, so it had been deemed the hide-out for the afternoon.

But you take advantage of something ONCE…

"Uh…hi?" Yuffie greeted with a question mark as she opened her office door to find the two there.

Tifa waved with her spoon, being in the process of swallowing ice cream. Aerith just sunk lower in her seat.

"…Whatcha doin'?" Yuffie asked in a singsong voice, looking curious about their presence.

"Hiding." Tifa sat back in the swiveling chair behind Yuffie's desk—the only one that was comfortable.

Yuffie crossed over to the lonely little file cabinet against the wall. "From-?"

"Jake." Tifa offered.

"I know right?" Yuffie looked at her in agreement. "What's his damage?"

"McCallister is his damage." Tifa shrugged.

Yuffie smirked, "You're really starting to show." She glanced at Tifa's stomach.

"That's the other thing we're hiding from." Tifa pointed at her. "My eyes are up here!" Then, changing mood almost like lightning, she asked. "You've faked an orgasm before, right?"

Aerith groaned and sank even lower in her seat.

Yuffie blinked, "On occasion…" Her gaze slid from Tifa to Aerith, "What kind of weirdo conversations are you two having back here?"

Tifa paused, unsure how deep into this she wanted to go, but Aerith spoke up, sounding irritated. "I faked it last night with Cloud." She folded her arms on the desk, dumping her head into her forearms dramatically.

Yuffie blinked again, looking from Aerith, to Tifa, and back to Aerith. "So?"

"So?!" Aerith sat up, "I feel horrible!"

"Did it feel horrible?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow. "Is that why you faked it?"

"No!" Aerith wailed, "I was just…preoccupied. I couldn't focus…I've been so wrapped up in all this research and these budget meetings…I just sort of…pretended…"

Tifa laughed and Aerith looked at her, affronted. "Aerith, it would have been worse if you hadn't."

"Cloud and I have been…together…for over six months, and this has never happened before." The woman confessed. "Are we doing something wrong?"

"No," Yuffie shrugged, "In fact, I think you're a better girlfriend for faking it when you didn't really…reach the top of the mountain." She snickered at her little euphemism.

Aerith didn't look encouraged by that, and instead asked Tifa. "So you…with Leon…"

"Sure." Tifa bobbed her head, "Not here recently though…With these hormones…a Blizzard Spell couldn't put me out." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what Leon's doing after patrol today…"

Both Yuffie and Aerith looked disturbed at that.

Shaking her head, Aerith fidgeted, "I guess I'm just…not used to…NOT…reaching the top of the mountain with him."

Yuffie snickered again at the euphemism.

Tifa, however, paused in her thoughts to look at Aerith. "Wait…wait…wait…'with' him? As in, at the same time?" Aerith just looked at her blankly, so Tifa leaned closer, clarifying, "At the same time?"

Aerith shifted, "Well…yeah."

"Holy crap." Yuffie put her hands on her hips.

"What?" Aerith looked between the two self consciously.

"You two have been doing it for six months," Tifa said slowly, "And you reach the top of the mountain at the same time, every time?"

Yuffie snickered again at the euphemism.

"Barring last night." Aerith folded her arms. "Is that not normal?"

"No." Tifa chuckled through her response, "But that's…impressive."

"Dude…" Yuffie blinked, "I want your sex life."

Finished with her ice cream, Tifa pulled out her phone and texted Leon. Aerith looked bewildered.

Yuffie just groaned and left her office, muttering, "Fucking soulmates."

**..:-X-:..**

**056 – Change My Mind**

Cid was going for the broom that he kept in the main office of the garage, but Jake was already bolting for the door, yelling over his shoulder, "I'm sorry! I just thought I'd ask your opinion!"

"You're just lucky I don't have a gun back here!" Cid brandished the broom, stepping out of the office.

He was going to tan the younger man's hide for his endless pestering about girl problems, but he stopped short when he found, not Jake Alms standing in his mechanic shop, but Beverly.

She looked intrigued by his choice of weapon. "Is this…a bad time?"

Cid faltered, wrong footed, but saw Jake making good progress all the way across the commercial district through the glass doors. "Yeah…I mean, no. No, not a bad time." He set the broom aside. "What brings you here?"

Beverly pressed her hands together briefly before shoving them in her pockets. "What usually does?"

He paused for just a beat before setting the broom down. "A'right. Shop closes in half an hour, we could-"

"No." Beverly interrupted, "Not—" She let out a rush of air and shifted from one foot to the other. "I meant you. I usually come to Radiant Garden for you…not just the sex."

A tingle descended his spine, but he rolled his neck to get rid of it. "Look, I'm sorry about…a few weeks ago. It was pretty shitty of me to just show up, yellin' and carryin' on like that."

Beverly looked pensive, "Well…yeah, but…some interesting things were said."

He stared at her, unable to entirely recall that night, aside from the fleeting memories of alcohol, raised voices, sweat, and her perfume. He could put the pieces together…but he hadn't realized he'd been drunk enough to spill any beans. What beans were there to spill?

"You're an honest drunk, Cid." She smiled slowly.

"Ah, Hell…What did I say?" He mumbled.

Beverly held his eyes evenly for a second longer than was normal. "You said that you liked me."

Cid remained carefully expressionless…and failed entirely. "Yeah, well…there you go." He snapped a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket, lighting it swiftly.

"So I told you that I liked you too." She added.

"Were you as drunk as me?" He grunted.

"No, I'm an honest sober person." She remarked. "And you said that liking me scares you."

"Well…maybe it does." Cid said nonchalantly, inhaling around the cigarette.

Beverly looked hesitant. "Why?"

Cid twitched, not liking where this was leading. "Why doesn't it scare you?"

"Cid, we're both adults here. Don't act like a teenager." Beverly said flatly.

He bristled. "I'm not the one that threw a hissy fit because I didn't freak out when you announced you were moving to Radiant Garden."

The grin slid off her face. "I did not throw a hissy fit."

"You totally jumped on my ass."

"Why are you picking a fight?"

He smirked. "Because you get all hot and bothered when you're pissed."

She opened her mouth to retort, deflated, and shook her head with a snort. "You're an ass."

He puffed lightly on the cigarette and a more comfortable quiet moment passed.

"So…what happens now?" Beverly prompted. "The cat's out of the bag: we like each other."

"Hm." He nodded, "I guess this is where a normal man would ask a normal woman out."

Beverly looked thoughtful. "Okay, so what will WE do?" She paused. "Sorry, it's not 'we', is it?"

Cid frowned, exhaling smoke. She looked both hurt and hopeful at the same time. Fucking hopeful. He knew what hopeful felt like, and he knew even more acutely what it felt like to have that hope doused in gasoline and lit on fire. He inwardly flinched. Dammit, that had been over 20 years ago. It was time to get the fuck over it.

"I," He enunciated, leaning back against the counter. "am going to be in Atlantica next week."

She squinted one eye at the change in topic. "Okay, have fun with the fins…"

"LANDLOCKED Atlantica." Cid clarified. "Inspecting the Heartless prevention program on the continent." He stared at the glass doors past her. "It's gonna take a while, so I know I'll be there at least until next Thursday night."

"What does that—"

"Maybe," He spoke over her, "you have business to do in Atlantica."

She squinted the other eye, "I don't usually—"

"And if we're both in Atlantica…by happen-stance…around eight o'clock on Thursday…and we happen to run into each other at this local restaurant…" He tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette. "It might be busy and we might end up sharing a table."

Beverly gave him a long, hard look, before chuckling. "That's probably the most romantic way I've ever been asked out on a date."

"I never said date." Cid said, mocking loftiness.

"Oh, okay." She nodded sagely with a wink. "So…maybe I'll see you then."

"Or maybe not." Cid continued to feign nonchalance. "It's just whatever."

"Right," She snickered. "Well, I'm glad we decided not to decide on anything."

The phone rang on the desk behind him, and they both glanced at it.

"I guess I'll get going." Beverly took that as a cue to leave. "See you…whenever."

"Whenever." Cid shrugged teasingly.

She flashed a devilish grin as she backed out of the glass doors, slipping her sunglasses on as she headed toward the town square. Cid watched her go, arms still folded, cigarette idling between his lips, and a dumb grin snuck across his mouth.

He picked up the phone on the next to last ring. "Cid's Garage."

"Did you ask her out?"

"Alms, go fucking talk to McCallister about your shit!"

**..:-X-:..**

**057 – Blind Date**

Until she found herself standing outside the restaurant, Yuffie was determined not to do this. She thought it was stupid and unnecessary and…stupid. And yet, there she was, glaring at the front doors of the establishment, cursing everything, particularly Jake. He must have caught her at a weak moment…she wasn't entirely sure how he had persuaded her to do this. It probably had something to do with his ability to turn on the Puppy Eyes at the drop of a hat.

Stupid Jake and his stupid face.

Feeling immensely self-conscious, Yuffie checked her watch again. She was late. Just by a few minutes, but she was late. This Trevor person was probably already inside, if he was any gentleman at all…Then again, he was one of Jake's friends. So he was probably full of lame pick up lines, cheeky mannerisms, and artificially whitened teeth. She grimaced but caved and walked into the restaurant.

Okay, so she hadn't been on a date in a while. That was no big deal. She had been busy saving the universe and generally being a bad ass. She had no time for men and their stupid boy penises. They couldn't handle her. She could get a date anytime she wanted. She was a bad ass. So why was she sweating?

Yuffie glanced around the half-crowded area. Jake had told her that Trevor was tall and brawny and ginger. He hadn't said what he'd told his friend about her. Probably that she was awesome…because she totally was. Too awesome for something as lame as a blind date, anyway. She could just leave right now, and save this poor Trevor fellow the embarrassment of not being as cool as her.

But leaving felt like retreat, and she was no coward. So, sweating and starting to feel nauseated, she continued to look for a tall, brawny ginger. All the tables seemed to be full of people, couples, chatting and talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company.

Crap, she was going to have to talk to this dude.

As soon as that thought registered, she spotted a tall redhead at a table by himself. The lighting was socially dim, probably to make the restaurant seem romantic or ambient, but it only served to jumble his features as she squinted, trying to decide if this was worth her while.

Because, yeah, it was kinda douchey to judge someone on their appearance, but we all do it. For better, for worse, even if we don't act on it and immediately reprimand ourselves for doing it, we still do it. If he was cute, she would give him a shot. If not, well, it was just dinner.

That morning, she had cleared out a Heartless nest in the old castle ruins, facing down three beasts the size of minivans without a moment's thought. THIS she was stressing out about?

Steeling herself, Yuffie crossed over to where he was sitting. He made eye contact with her when she was a few paces away, and something struck familiar with her. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"Trevor?" She greeted apprehensively.

_No, I'm Joe. Leave me alone, I'm busy being ginger. OR…_

_Yes, but you're shorter than I expected. Raincheck? OR…_

_No hablo ingles, pero eres feo._

"Yuffie?" He smiled just as apprehensively, standing from his seat and offering his hand. "Yeah, that's me. Trevor, I mean. Not Yuffie, that's you…but you knew that…Sorry."

His voice was deep and rumbly. Yuffie shook his hand, noting that his hand was huge and that, upon closer inspection, he was built like a truck. Where did she recognize him from?

"Nice to meet you." Seeing him so nervous put her a little at ease. "So, Jake has told me absolutely nothing, other than you're ginger. Tell me a little about yourself. Are you from Radiant Garden?"

They both sat down again.

"Not originally." He replied. "But I relocated here after I was transferred from the base unit in Deep Jungle."

"Ah, so you're enlisted in the Alliance?" Yuffie prompted. "I'm the head of the Stealth and Recon Department." She said proudly.

He canted his head, "Wow, that's unbelievable." He blinked. "Not...unbelievable because you're a woman or anything…I actually think women make better leaders than men…not to show any disrespect to the men leaders in the Alliance…Sorry…sorrysorry." He shook his head, "I ramble when I'm nervous."

"I noticed." Yuffie grinned gently. "But that's cool. I'm sweating like a mammoth."

Wow, Yuffie, don't try to be ladylike or anything.

Trevor snorted at that and looked at her evenly. "You look really familiar."

"Yeah, you know, I was thinking the same about you." She squinted thoughtfully.

They both suddenly paused.

"No-slow-dance girl?"

"Lumberjack?"

Stupid Jake.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **I feel like the longer I write this story, the more insecurity issues per capita just keep exponentially increasing. Commitment issues for everybody! Maybe that's just my passive aggressive reaction to stories where Boy meets Girl and they kiss and then it's promptly happily ever after for them. Real life recently reminded me that it does NOT work like that. Hence my cynicism.

Tifa and Leon already went through all that noise, so they're immune at this point, haha.

**Preview for next week:** _If a grown man could actually squee, Cloud saw Leon do it. _


	20. First Kick

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake, McCallister, and Beverly. And Piper the Cat. There's some language in this one…because Cid. I also may have made a stealthy Fullmetal Alchemist reference in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**058 –Between You and Me**

"So…is this cat just not a people person or is it just me?" Jake asked.

Aerith sat in front of him, cleaning the angry scratch marks all over his arms with antiseptic. "It's definitely not just you. He likes Cloud just fine. It's everybody else that he seems to hate."

"There's a change." Jake snorted, then, when Aerith abruptly pressed very hard on one of his cuts, "Ow!"

Aerith glared lightly at him. "For your information, everybody likes Cloud now."

Jake's eyebrows went sky high. Across the room, Aerith's cat growled.

"I said 'now'." Aerith clarified. "I even think he and Leon are starting to become friends."

"I bet you ten munny that Leon's daughter will know Cloud by the name 'jerkass'." Jake snickered.

"Do you want me to sic Piper on you again?"

"What kind of name is Piper for a cat anyway? What kind of name is Piper for anything?" Jake questioned.

"This from a guy almost-kinda-sorta dating a woman named TABAEUS."

Jake hmphed at that and looked away, but he could never sustain a silence for longer than a breath, so he soon looked back to her. "Wait, Tifa kept her last name when she and Leon eloped. Is their kid's name going to be Lockhart-Leonhart? That sounds like a traumatizing experience on the playground just waiting to happen."

"I don't know." Aerith shrugged lightly, finishing with the cleaning of the cuts and putting away the first aid kit.

"I like the name Alex." Jake input. "Tifa already shot it down, said it reminded her of a bodybuilder and pink sparkles."

Aerith snorted. "I like the name Emma…or Rose."

Jake rotated his wrist, inspecting her bandaging job. "You want a daughter, huh?"

"I certainly won't complain if I ever have a son, but…yeah…I've always wanted to have a little girl." Aerith said dreamily. "How about you?"

"I carry a minimum of five condoms with me at all times. Do I look like the settling down type?" Jake smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Aerith pursed her lips. "You decide what type you are. Do you want kids eventually?"

"I don't think about 'eventually'." He piped up. "It gets in the way of 'right now'."

"You eventually got Tabaeus to agree to go on a date. That took planning."

"That was…different."

Across the room, Piper made another low noise in his throat, and Jake tensed.

"Just because she agreed to a date," Jake started tentatively. "doesn't mean—"

"Wait, wait." Aerith straightened, "What is this? Pessimism? Jake Alms, I've known you for nearly three years and never seen you with less than a grin on your face. You took rejection from McCallister a handful of times, to some humiliating levels, and you didn't give up. Now you've got her, and NOW you're doubting?"

Jake looked uncharacteristically serious. "I don't have her. I have an agreement to a date. Getting the date doesn't mean getting the girl. So she kissed me, that's not the final word. She could call me tomorrow and tell me to never speak to her again. We might date for a while and break up. We might get married and live happily ever after. Nothing is certain. You should know that better than anybody."

Aerith paused, "And how would I know that 'better than anybody'?"

"For a while there, no one knew if Cloud was coming back." Jake said softly. "For a while, Cloud and Tifa were heading toward coupledom and their own happily ever after. Now Tifa and Leon are having a kid, and you and Cloud are in a serious relationship. Do you see what I mean?"

She looked long and hard at the man for a minute. He was scared out of his mind. Private McCallister's affinity for being antisocial and comfortably alone, not to mention her intense loyalty to Leon—which would make any man jealous—was well known. Aerith had seen Jake get rejected by women and break up with women in embarrassing and soul-shattering ways. From the glass of water being thrown in his face, to being slapped, to actually having a crossbow aimed at his groin at last year's Halloween party…He took all of that in stride. The fact that he was so scared about a simple 'no' from McCallister…

"This isn't a crush." She thought aloud. "You're falling in love with her."

Jake didn't respond immediately, fidgeting with the bandage again.

Aerith smiled at his sudden sheepishness. She patted his knee. "Be careful, Jake."

He paused, swallowed, and abruptly changed the conversation. "So, this cat—"

"Ugh." Aerith groaned.

Piper's fluffy grey face peered out from under the recliner, and both Jake and Aerith leaned away, fearing attack when those mean blue eyes were cast their way.

"I think it can smell fear." Jake whispered.

**..:-X-:..**

**059 – Intentionally Unintentionally**

Cid ducked and rolled away from the wall, barely missing the large, pronged claws of the Heartless as it dug into the concrete. Eighty-four days of no Heartless sightings in Atlantica. The DAY that he steps foot on the marine world…the fuckin' things decide to have a reunion.

The large, hawk-like creature turned its attention from him to the team of minutemen on the continent, who were firing at it with their rifles from the streets as the civilians fled. It roared in anger and pain, spraying anyone in range with sputum and acrid breath. Cid got the brunt of the gooey saliva and cursed loudly.

The other, smaller Heartless were quickly being dispatched with by the natives, but this big queen Heartless was determined to be the Godzilla of this little kingdom. Cid shoved his gun into his belt, out of ammunition, and spotted instead a sea vessel cannon parked on the docks.

That might work.

He maneuvered around the danger zone, betting on the minutemen to keep the thing's attention, and he assessed the unused cannon briefly. It was in working order, though not loaded, but he could see a stack of cannonballs waiting to be loaded onto the docked sea vessel. Moving quickly, he carted one of the black balls into the funnel of the cannon. He pushed it back to the base and then checked the wick on the heavy end.

Snapping off a match on the wooden stand of the cannon, he held it close to the wick but didn't light it, instead straightening and yelling: "Drop your shit!"

The squad of civilian-soldiers glanced his way in surprise and immediately ran for cover. Unfortunately, the Heartless also spun at his holler, and Cid just offered a lopsided smirk and lit the cannon.

"Welcome to Atlantica, mother fucker!"

The cannonball exploded out of the shaft and nailed the massive Heartless square in the chest, blasting a hole directly through the beast. The Heartless shrieked in dying agony and staggered before toppling sideways into the harbor. The residual displaced water gushed up over the dock where Cid was standing, soaking him to the knees in sea water and Heartless blood.

He grimaced and wiped the blood, salt water, and sputum from his face as best he could, but it felt more like he was just smearing it around. He let off a string of curses at that, but noted that most of the continental kingdom had been salvaged from the attacks.

"Huzzah! Huzzah!" The minutemen were chanting triumphantly.

"Hey, Mr. Highwind." The squad's impromptu leader, Prince Eric, climbed up onto the docks and offered a hand. "Thank you for your help."

Cid was quite happy to shake the man's clean hand with his gooey, nasty one. Eric looked unaffected by the mess, however, simply wiping his hand afterward on his pants and saying: "I've seen worse. Trust me."

Cid really doubted that, but he let it go.

"Can you all handle this from here on?" He asked gruffly.

"Yes, sir." Eric chimed. "We've already got clean up crews assembling where the attack started, and they're fanning out over the worst damaged areas." He glanced past Cid to the dissolving corpse of the Heartless in the harbor. "What about—"

"It should diminish over the next few minutes." Cid said with a shrug, "If it don't, light it on fire."

"It's in the ocean." Eric replied flatly.

"Them damn things are flammable as Hell." Cid remarked. "Trust me on that."

Eric looked dubious and bewildered, but Cid dismissed him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a not-date that I need to intentionally-unintentionally drop in on." He waved him off.

The prince gave no comment to that, and Cid took his leave. Cid walked inland, away from the harbor, and tried to mop himself up as best he could…which wasn't much. When he reached the little place where he and Beverly had agreed to bump into each other on-accident-on-purpose, he found that its doors were closed and the lights dimmed: 'closed until after the attacks'.

Well shit.

"Wow."

He turned at the phrase to see Beverly sitting across the street on a bench and sipping from a drink. She looked amused…and if he wasn't mistaken, she was wearing slightly fancier clothes than usual: a short silver skirt and a low cut blue top as opposed to her usual jeans and tank tops. She was even wearing her hair down and curly, instead of up and…curly. She was snickering.

"Shut up." Cid looked down at his rancid appearance.

"I'm glad this wasn't a date-date, or I would probably be pissed." She remarked.

"Wasn't my fault. Some big damn Heartless—" He bickered, slouching over to her.

"I know. I saw." She nodded, "Cannon…nice."

He snorted, but paused when she screwed up her nose and leaned away.

"Dude…you need a shower…"

**..:-X-:..**

**060 – Just for Kicks**

Cloud leaned far to the left, gritting his teeth as he jammed the buttons with his thumb. "No, no, no, no!"

On the couch beside him, Tifa was cackling, also leaning to the left. "Eat my dust!"

The split screen on the television in front of them showed two angles of the same depressing scene. Tifa's avatar in the video game was destroying Cloud's. They were barely halfway through the race, but Tifa was playing dirty.

"Foul!" Cloud pointed at the screen as Tifa's vehicle knocked his entirely off the race track.

"There are no fouls in life, son!" Tifa whooped, as her avatar tore forward for the straight away, lengthening the gap between their two vehicles.

"This isn't life!" Cloud snapped, straightening again and hitting every button on the controller to try and maneuver his vehicle back onto the track, but it was stuck in the pixelated bushes.

"And I'm through the lava field again." Tifa commentated, "Oh…crap, crap, crap, I forgot about the pier!"

Cloud saw her avatar vault off the ramp at the edge of the volcano portion of the track, crashing and burning into the bog below. "Ha, karma!"

Tifa grumbled as her vehicle was booted to the resuming point. She was still ahead of him, but the margin had just closed significantly. Cloud finally got his avatar dislodged from the bushes of death, and he leaned to the right, almost against Tifa, as he urged his character to go faster around the turn.

"How did you ever pass your driver's test?" Tifa shoved him with her elbow, moving through the volcano track again. "You suck at this."

"Games and reality are not the same." He snarled, keeping an eye on the heat gauge for his vehicle in the corner of the screen. "Besides," He grunted as he vaulted over the pier, landing safely on the other side. "you've been playing this game all week."

"Well, it's not like I can go on battle missions, Mr. I-Don't-Have-a-Uterus." Tifa bantered, slinging her car around the frozen lake of the next portion of the track.

Cloud snorted and took one hand off his controller, covering her eyes as he tried to pass her car. She squawked and swatted him away, leaning far to the right against the armrest of the couch. His tactic worked, however, and her avatar was sent careening into a glacier.

"You swine!" Tifa snapped, reversing out from under the snow.

Cloud's car merrily zoomed past her.

She straightened her car out and started after him. "That's no way to treat a lady."

"When have you ever been a lady?"

That earned him a pillow cushion to the face, which, considering Tifa's strength, was no joke. He kept a hold of his controller, though, and was able to keep his vehicle from slamming into the side of the track.

However, Tifa sat forward, sly grin in place. "And you, sir, are no gentleman."

She pushed one of the buttons on the controller. A rocket folded out of the back of her car and ignited. Fire blasted out of the back of the car, blasting her avatar across the last stretch of the track, beating him handily.

"Boom!" She tossed the controller onto the couch. "Get some!"

Cloud steamed, hanging his head. "You're a filthy cheater."

"Cheating?" Tifa pointed to the screen, "You're a sore loser."

"You had a ROCKET strapped onto your car! That wasn't even an option in the design."

"It is if you had a secret code." Tifa remarked smartly.

"That's—that's not fair." He slumped back in the couch.

"I've been playing this game for a week straight. I'm on boss level with everything, my car is customized, and I have codes." Tifa snarked. "Don't challenge me, mortal."

Cloud glared at her, prepared to fire back a smart remark. Tifa's face suddenly changed. Her grin froze on her mouth and her eyes widened. Her hand drifted to her stomach.

"What?" He asked, concern flags flying up. "Are you okay?"

"Something—I think." She looked down, and then at Cloud. "I think the baby just kicked."

Cloud stared at her. "Are you sure?"

Tifa smiled slowly. "Yeah, I mean…she's never done that before—" She froze again, "Yes…That—she just kicked again!" Eyes wide, she looked to Cloud. "The first kick! Feel!"

"Wha—" But Tifa had already snatched his hand and planted it on the side of her stomach. "I don't—"

A little thump registered against his thumb. His eyes widened, and he was momentarily speechless. Tifa, however, was already dialing Leon on her phone.

"Hey!" She greeted her husband, practically squealing. "She kicked!"

Cloud heard Leon's voice suddenly blaring over the phone, but he was just stuck with his hand against Tifa's belly. The baby wasn't kicking at the moment, but he felt strange anyway. Until that point, 'the baby' had just been a fog of grey and black on an ultrasound picture, abstract and intangible. Suddenly, this kid was alive and kicking. He had just felt it. The development made it truly hit him for the first time.

Tifa and Leon were going to be parents.

The door burst open across the room, and Leon staggered in, panting and still holding the phone to his ear. He looked like he'd run clear across Radiant Garden…which, Cloud considered, he probably had.

"I'm here." He spoke into the cell.

"I can see that." Tifa hung up and Leon did likewise. "C'mere-c'mere-c'mere!" She waved him over.

Leon practically flew to her side, and Cloud awkwardly took his hand back. Tifa did the same with Leon's hand as she had with Cloud's, although Leon was almost bouncing where he stood, whereas Cloud had been yanked.

"I don't…I don't feel it." Leon said, panicky.

"Give her a second, she's only just learning how to—there!" Tifa said.

If a grown man could actually squee, Cloud saw Leon do it.

Tifa giggled, "It feels so weird."

"What were you doing?" Leon prompted.

"I just beat Cloud at the video game, and she kicked."

Leon snorted, "Nice."

Cloud rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Great, your kid is going to like causing me pain, just like you two."

Leon shook his head, dumb grin still in place, "I can't even snipe at you right now, Cloud."

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **I just want to say, that Cid's 'Welcome to Atlantica, mother fucker!' is one of my favorite lines of dialogue that I have ever written. I wrote it while I was at work in the library, and I couldn't stop giggling at it.

**Preview for next week:** _Rinoa had had the sniffles yesterday, but it had quickly escalated into a full blown cold, and it was having its way with her._


	21. Paradox Part One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are McCallister, Jake, Piper, and Eugenia Harker. One subplot starts up in this chapter that I have been looking forward to writing for weeks. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**061 – Tales from the Jeep**

The parking garage was mostly empty for the morning. Most people were at work. Tabaeus was counting on that. The Weapons Specialist Department had just met a crucial deadline that had been looming over all of them for the past month. She had just come off an all nighter to finish her segment of the reports. Normally she didn't do this sort of thing, but she had decided to blow off the rest of the morning and just…not do anything.

So there she was, lying on her back inside the opened back hatch of Commander Leonhart and Lieutenant Lockhart's Jeep, staring at the ceiling of the vehicle. It was a humid morning, but not too hot, so she had just removed her uniform jacket and draped it over the edge of the hatch. The little smiley face that someone had drawn on the ceiling of the Jeep grinned down at her and she exhaled, closing her eyes.

Nearing footsteps made her cringe and open her eyes. Seriously? Right now? She couldn't even get two minutes alone with her thoughts? She was getting nearer and nearer to a stress breakdown, and some lazy ass skipping on a shift was going to—

Commander Leonhart rounded the corner, glancing over to the open hatch of the Jeep, spotting her. Oh, well he was okay then, she considered. Her superior officer had been crunching the deadlines even harder than she had been. She sat up.

"Sir."

"Nuh uh." He waved away her attempt to salute, "Scoot over."

Tabaeus immediately shifted to the right side of the hatch, and he climbed up onto the left side. He let out a long exhale, looking just as wrung out and spent as she felt, and she relaxed slightly. They both reclined to their backs on the floorboard of the back hatch. Neither said anything for several minutes.

Her mind drifted back to her stresses. Her date with Jake had been…interesting. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. He had been…gentlemanly and attentive. It was so unlike their normal, jeering remarks at each other that she had gotten self conscious. But now the date was over…what next? Another date? Had they friend-zoned each other? Nervous energy writhed through her stomach, and she squirmed. Everyone had been asking, prying, trying to sway her to see how great of a guy Jake was and why wasn't she being more responsive to him? What, just because he liked her she was obligated she like him back? Did she?

"We bought a crib yesterday." Her commander blurted beside her out of the blue.

She looked at him without moving her head and noted that he'd busted out the secret jar of peanut butter that was stashed inside the Jeep. He'd already unscrewed the top and was spooning the stuff out with a popsicle stick. Oh, he must be stressing out pretty badly too if he was going straight for the peanut butter at 9 in the morning.

Fair enough.

"Jake sent me flowers last week." She confessed.

"We still don't have a name picked out. It shouldn't be this hard."

"He's been texting me and I don't know if he's being sociable or flirting."

"I don't know how to put a crib together. The directions are in twelve different languages!"

"I don't know how to flirt. It's so awkward and…I just feel stupid."

"What if I put it together wrong and it falls apart while the baby's in it?"

"People keep acting like I'm 'supposed' to like Jake. I want to like Jake. I don't know if I do or not and how seriously I do if I do, which I don't know. Why isn't this black and white?!"

"Tifa isn't freaking out. At least not around me, she isn't. She's just sort of…calm about everything. What if something goes wrong?"

"Say we don't work out. Then it's triple awkward and it's my fault, because I will be the one to mess this up. I always am when it comes to…feelings."

"What if my daughter doesn't like me? I'm not good with kids. I don't know how to act around kids."

"Why is Jake even bothering with me? There are dozens of other women in the Alliance, much more attractive and flirty than me. I'm a lagoon creature next to some of them."

"My mother died just a few days after I was born. What if I'm cursed? Tifa thinks I'm being ridiculous, but I can't—if she—"

"What if I end up falling in love with Jake and he breaks my heart? But what if I don't give him a chance and I never know—"

"I'm scared."

"Me too."

They both fell quiet again, slightly out of breath from the rambling.

Her face felt hot from confessing so many things that she normally kept internalized, but it was just Commander Leonhart. Beside her, he seemed to be thinking vice versa.

After a not-quite-awkward-but-not-completely-comfortable silence, he held up the jar of peanut butter and a second popsicle stick. She snorted and took the stick, dipping it into the jar and drawing out a lump of the butter. He helped himself to another dollop of it as well.

"Who drew that?" He gestured to the smiley face on the ceiling.

"I have no idea, sir." She said, licking the peanut butter from the stick.

A contemplative silence settled between them.

**..:-X-:..**

**062 – Under the Weather**

"You're not allergic, are you?" Aerith asked, looking alarmed at Rinoa's violent sneeze.

Rinoa regarded her flatly over her wad of tissues. "Piper has been here for over a month. I think I would have reacted sooner if I was." She groaned, massaging her temples. "I think I've caught the Plague."

"Wow, that's impressive." Aerith said flippantly, stirring her tea and looking at her roommate, who was splayed out in a pathetic mess on the couch in the living room.

Rinoa had had the sniffles yesterday, but it had quickly escalated into a full blown cold, and it was having its way with her. She was still wearing her pajamas, was bundled up in a blanket, her hair was unkempt and disheveled, her nose was red, her eyes were puffy, she was congested, and she kept switching between coughing and sniffling.

"Do you want me to call in to work for you?" Aerith offered.

Rinoa kept her eyes closed, massaging her head against the sinus pressure. "That would be great. Thank you."

Aerith gave her a sympathetic look and took up the phone, dialing the IT Department. It was still early morning, but there was always someone in IT. Piper the grey cat was curled up on one of the chairs pulled up to the dining room table. Only his tail was in view, but as Aerith walked past with the phone to her ear, she heard him growl.

"Oh hush." She chided.

"Radiant Garden IT. This is Eddy Lake." Was the greeting.

"Hi, this is Aerith Gainsborough." She greeted politely. "I'm calling on behalf of Rinoa Heartilly. She's feeling pretty under the weather this morning, so she won't be able to make it in to work today."

"Oh, is she all right?" He asked.

Aerith glanced over to the couch and saw Rinoa feebly reaching for the remote control on the coffee table. Her arm was too short to reach the remote without leaning the rest of her body over. Upon realizing this, Rinoa sighed and dropped her arm pathetically, not even attempting to move anything else.

Aerith exhaled. "Just a bad cold. Allergy season is upon us, after all."

Rinoa glared from the couch, making a cut throat motion.

"Well, I understand." Eddy Lake was saying. "Tell her I hope she gets to feeling better."

"I will." Aerith bobbed her head, "Good bye."

She hung up the phone, and Rinoa sniffled.

"What?" Aerith noted her miffed expression.

"Bad cold? Ugh, Aerith, why'd you say that?" Rinoa sunk lower into the couch.

Aerith lifted an eyebrow. "Because…you have a cold…and it's bad."

"What do you think when you hear the words 'bad cold'?" Rinoa prompted.

"Sniffles, sinus pressure, orange juice, and chicken soup." Aerith folded her arms.

"I meant…what do you think of someone's appearance when you hear that they have a cold?" Rinoa pressed.

"Um…a red nose…holding a box of tissues…and wearing sweat pants?" Aerith lifted her shoulders, not sure what the woman was getting at here.

"Try runny nose, messy hair, mouth breathing, hacking up a lung, pale, and gross." Rinoa huffed.

Okay, so Rinoa was no beauty queen when she was sick, but no one was.

"…So?" Aerith said slowly. "You're worried that…"

"I'm the newbie in the department, Aerith." Rinoa lamented. "I'm supposed to still be fresh out of the box and cute and energetic and—" She sneezed and blew her nose. "But now, since Eddy knows I have a cold…my cuteness is going to be replaced with the image of a swamp monster!"

Aerith canted her head, "You're worried about what Eddy thinks of you?"

"I never said that." Rinoa narrowed her eyes.

Aerith walked past the dining room table again, and Piper growled lowly at her again. Casting the table a sour look, Aerith looked back to Rinoa.

"I think you're being a little superficial here. You've worked there for a few months now. I think the 'new and shiny' bit has worn off." She offered.

Rinoa coughed a few times and looked pitifully to Aerith. "Whatever. Oh, you got some mail yesterday when I checked the box."

"Yesterday?" Aerith moved over to the basket by the door where they had started habitually dropping the mail. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I'm dying." Rinoa said melodramatically. "And I can't reach the remote so the last thing I know in this world is going to be re-runs of Star Trek." She grimaced.

Aerith shook her head and sifted through the mail, finding the letter addressed to her. There was no return address and she didn't recognize the handwriting on the envelope. Intrigued, she slid her finger through the top to rip it open and tugged the handwritten letter out. Unfolding it, she automatically looked at the bottom for the name of the sender. Upon reading that and the letter in its entirety, she dropped it to the floor in shock.

**..:-X-:..**

**063 – Paradox, Part One**

Cloud had always preferred night patrols. They were quiet and there were less people milling about to stumble into accidental conversation with. Heartless were natural creatures of the night, so if the monsters decided to cause a particularly violent skirmish, it typically would take place at night. He would clear out a Heartless nest any night over idle chit chat with passersby during the day.

Tonight was different. As the appointed head of the general and basic training department in the Alliance, he usually got to divvy patrol shifts up to the enlisted soldiers. Tonight, however, a local had called him specifically about some disturbance. The local, Eugenia Harker, was a hardened and snappy old woman who kept two shotguns in her store and could evil-eye Cid Highwind into shoveling snow off her porch for her: she wouldn't call in a simple Heartless attack. She lived on the edge of town, near the perimeter, so she saw more than her fair share of Heartless activity.

However, she HAD called in, and Cloud specifically—though what her reasoning was for that, he didn't know and wasn't about to ask the cantankerous old woman—so that was reason enough for concern. Allegedly, she had heard a sound like a great gust of wind in the alley near her home and had seen a flash of bluish light. It was brighter than the claymore security system and was briefer in duration. To Cloud, that sounded like a teleportation. Since then, she had been hearing scuffling and screaming, some human and some not, but every time she went outside, it stopped.

So now here Cloud was, scouting through the back sector of the residential district, straining his ears for any such sounds and keeping his eyes peeled for any such sights. The widow wasn't the paranoid type, so he felt he had to put some stock in her words, but he had been out here for over an hour and hadn't come across so much as a hint of—

A cry of pain and a grunt broke the silence, and Cloud shifted his grip on the Buster Sword, trying to pinpoint the sound. It was followed by a series of colliding sounds: like skin on concrete and the hard packing slams of exchanged blows. He crossed from one alley to the next, getting closer to the noise.

The familiar 'phewt' noise of a silenced gunshot made him break into a run. If two idiots had just gotten into a fight late at night, that was one thing. He rounded the corner and pulled up short, having stumbled into the cause of the sounds.

A thickly built man in a tattered blue business suit was squatting over a fallen woman, who was bleeding from a split lip and a cut on her cheek. The man had a thick black scarf wrapped around his neck and he was leaning over the woman, who appeared dazed from a blow to the head, almost like he was about to…bite her or something.

"Hey!" Cloud barked, moving forward. "What do you think you're doing?"

The man spun around quickly, still in his squatting position, and fixed eyes on Cloud. His entire face was pale and almost grey colored, except for the red rimming his eyes and mouth. His eyes were yellow and bulging widely, and his teeth, as he bared them in a snarl, were black and rotted. He looked like a zombie. The woman on the ground was dressed like a civilian: green sleeveless shirt and common black jeans. Her long brown hair was matted from being attacked. Cloud took an aggressive step forward, lifting the Buster Sword threateningly.

"Back away from her." He ordered.

The man hissed and snarled like a rabid dog might, and Cloud saw that he was shifting to spring forward like a frog to attack him too. Before he could, however, the woman sprang back to life, rolling hard away from the sick man and bouncing up onto her feet with the reflexes of a cat. The man spun back to her and gave an animalistic roar, lunging at her.

The woman side stepped his assault and swung around so that she was behind the man. Then, before he could react, she swiftly reached out, grabbed him on either side of the neck, and twisted in an abrupt and violent motion. The crack of the man's neck breaking echoed like a gunshot through the alley and Cloud hesitated.

What the Hell?

The body dropped like a sack of potatoes and the woman looked down at him, almost apprehensively. Apprehensively? He was dead; Cloud had just seen her snap his neck like a chicken bone!

"Dammit—" She bolted sideways for the fallen gun—presumably the one that had fired earlier—and snatched it up.

The thick black scarf around the fallen man's neck suddenly moved, and Cloud recovered himself and stepped forward to investigate. Upon closer inspection, the thing looked like a giant black snake, with yellow eyes like a Heartless…but he got the feeling it wasn't a Heartless. It slid away from the man in a serpentine fashion and started to hastily slither away. Two bullets peppered the ground on either side of it, fired from the woman's gun, but it continued to scamper away…in Cloud's direction.

"KILL IT!" The woman barked hoarsely. "Take the head off!"

The advice was unnecessary, as Cloud beheaded the thing as it tried to pass him. It died with a shriek, but didn't dissolve like a Heartless. He looked back over to the woman and found her aiming the gun at HIM now. However, recognition made her eyes widen, and she immediately lowered the gun. She clearly recognized him, though he was positive he had never seen this woman before in his life.

"Oh…damn…" She backed away.

Before Cloud could pursue, she hit a switch on her belt and she, the dead man, and the dead monster disappeared in a flash of blue light and a gust of wind.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** Another installment of the inside joke that everybody hides out in Leon and Tifa's jeep when they're stressed out XD**  
**

The Paradox subplot has been in my head for a while now. I'm stoked to finally have this collection in a place where I can slip it in. While some of the subplots throughout this collection might seem scattered or disconnected, I assure you that they will all tie together at the end of this story and will assemble into a proper set up for the multi-chapter story that will wrap up my Alliance-verse, titled _Sentient Midnight, _hence the title _T Minus One Year_. It won't be out for a long while here yet, but I'm nothing if not fond of build-up XD

Thanks for reading!

**Preview for next week:** _"Fortune telling is a forbidden magic for a reason."_


	22. Questions of Identity

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Jake and Jinx. More subplots show up in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**064 – The Unanswered**

"I'm telling you," Cloud said emphatically, "she knew who I was, but I know I had never seen her before in my life."

Across the table from him in the Magic Department, Merlin looked over the rim of his spectacles at Cloud. "Are you certain? Surely you can't remember every single person that you have ever seen, Cloud."

Exasperated, Cloud straightened, running both hands down his eyes. "Not…This wasn't like some passerby kind of recognition. This was…she looked…" He shook his head. "She knew me. Really knew me."

"And you got that from one look?" Merlin questioned.

"She looked terrified, Merlin." Cloud said firmly. "Why else would she look so scared?"

"I think you may be mistaking that fear as fear directed at YOU personally, rather than perhaps the general situation?" Merlin suggested.

Cloud folded his arms, glancing toward the window. "Well, there was that whole…zombie guy with the black snake thing around his head…but Merlin—" He looked back at the old wizard. "She snapped his neck clean…like it was nothing. She was no civilian. She had had training. She knew what she was doing."

"And have you searched the Alliance records?"

"Of course." Cloud ran a hand through his hair, tempted to start pacing. "I scoured the database. The only person who I can think of with that kind of precision training is Tifa, but she would never train her department interns to KILL people in combat."

He gave in and started pacing the wizard's office. None of this made any sense. Ever since the strange woman had vanished from that alley over a week ago, Cloud couldn't get her out of his head. She looked…familiar…but he had never seen her before. He was CERTAIN of that much. Where had she gone? Who was she? Who had that man been? What had been wrong with him? What was that creature that had been latched onto him? Why had the woman disappeared so suddenly? Why had she been afraid?

Merlin looked pensive.

"What?" Cloud honed in on the older man's reserved expression.

Merlin pursed his lips, busying himself with a large text on his desk. "Nothing."

Cloud bristled. "You know who she is."

"No. I don't. But I may know where she came from."

"Tell me." Cloud stepped toward the desk.

Merlin straightened, adjusting his glasses. "Why are you so eager?"

Cloud exhaled, "I don't…I don't know."

The woman was a mystery. Cloud didn't like mysteries…particularly when they were associated with zombie-men and black snake creatures. She had left nothing behind, no physical evidence or proof that she had ever existed…only this unexplainable and burning curiosity in his gut. Merlin looked apprehensive.

"Please." Cloud hesitated at how desperate he sounded. He tried again. "What do you know?"

Merlin gave him a long look before straightening, "At the end of the Sorcerer's War, there was an incident when a woman showed up out of nowhere—"

"The Sorcerer's War…I've never heard of—"

"—She turned the tide of the battle and played a key role in the salvation of Radiant Garden, all those years ago." Merlin continued. "No one ever saw her after that, and only a handful even saw her at that moment in time."

Cloud swallowed, "You think it's the same girl?"

"No." Merlin said sadly. "I'm afraid the woman from the war is long…long gone." He looked mournful for a moment, but in the next moment his expression changed to one of mystery. "I believe you met a time traveler that night."

Beat.

"Time travel." Cloud blinked, "There's no such thing."

"She knew you…but you didn't know her…yet." Merlin said, stroking his beard. "I've encountered one in my years…but my encounter was with a woman far less…violent than the one you appear to have met."

"When are these…time travelers from? What do they want?" Cloud pressed.

Merlin sighed, "They are never very thorough in their explanations. They come, they do what they must, and then they leave. That would be the blue flash of light you saw."

"You're saying you've met a time traveler. That time travel exists." Cloud clarified. "They 'do what they must', what does that mean? They change time? Who could bear that responsibility? To change people's lives, their histories…" His eyes widened, "Have they altered Radiant Garden's history before? And now?"

"We are their past. Fortune telling is a forbidden magic for a reason." Merlin looked wistful again. "I was one of the handful who met her at the end of the Sorcerer's War."

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "What Sorcerer's War?"

Merlin offered only a small smile. "Exactly." Sensing Cloud's doubt, the old wizard sighed. "Anyway. It's just a theory. She could have been anyone."

**..:-X-:..**

**065 – The Shameless**

Yuffie tilted her head, hands planted on her hips, "A little to the left."

Leon glared down at her from his position on the ladder. He begrudgingly shifted to the left, raising the banner higher and hastily pegging it in place on the wall before his balance could be compromised.

"That's better." She chirped.

"Good, because that's as left as it's getting." Leon grunted, climbing down the ladder to the floor again.

Boxes and boxes of Halloween decorations had materialized all over Merlin's house, and Yuffie had been digging through them all afternoon. Yuffie and Aerith had been planning a Halloween party for a while now, but Leon noted that Aerith had been MIA for most of the week, so Yuffie had essentially taken over party duties.

Which meant that she was roping everyone within reach into helping her.

"You know it's a costume party, right?" Yuffie teased, rummaging through a box of plastic pumpkins and witch hats. "I've already got my outfit all set to go."

Leon grunted noncommittally at that, hoping his lack of enthusiasm would get him a quicker escape from her excited yammering. No such luck.

"Are you sure you can't get out of that Enchanted Castle mission next week?" She pried. "You're gonna miss all the fun."

"Fortunately for me, no I can't get out of it." He remarked, helplessly taking the mass of string lights in the shapes of pumpkins from Yuffie.

"Well, maybe Belle will be throwing a Halloween party of her own and you will be forced to dress up…like…like a scarecrow or something." She prattled on.

Leon groaned, "Ugh, scarecrow, really?"

Yuffie snickered, "Knowing you, you would dress up in some lame costume…like a soldier or something…" At Leon's sharp look, she recanted, "Not that soldiers are lame; it's just that you already are one. You're supposed to dress up like something that you aren't: like a cowboy or an astronaut or…a sexy firefighter or something."

"Then I guess your costume is of a sensible person?" Leon said flatly.

The younger woman laughed sarcastically at him. "Har-har, but you know, every year, Private McCallister just shows up in her fatigues and says that she's dressed as a soldier for Halloween?"

Leon snorted into his fist.

Yuffie gave him a deadpan look. "She's lame, and you're lame for thinking that's a clever costume."

"Whatever." Leon waved her off.

Aerith's grey cat Piper suddenly darted out from under the couch, pouncing onto a stuffed, green-faced witch doll that had fallen out of the nearest box. Both Yuffie and Leon started in surprise. Yuffie squeaked and hopped up onto the couch as though the cat was a mouse, and Leon staggered backwards out of the feline's trajectory of attack.

A beat passed, and Yuffie and Leon exchanged a quick look before going back to what they had been doing. There was a silent promise there to never mention their getting startled by a cat to anyone else.

"Speaking of," Leon went on abruptly. "…Jake keeps talking about this date—"

Yuffie groaned dramatically, "Ugh, I wish he'd just shut up about it. It was one little date. It meant nothing, and I'll probably never see him again."

She spun around to glare, but noted Leon's confused expression.

"You…went on a date with Jake?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"No." Yuffie barked incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"What are YOU talking about?" Leon repeated.

Yuffie blinked, "I was talking about the blind date that Jake set me up on a few weeks ago."

"I was talking about Jake and McCallister's date. Apparently it was a disaster." Leon remarked.

Yuffie huffed and straightened her blouse. "Well…mine wasn't much better."

"Oh?" Leon grimaced, realizing that it had come off as a question, like he was curious.

Unfortunately, Yuffie had gone on longer rants with less expressed curiosity.

"His name's Trevor. And he's…a gentleman." She started. "We had great conversation and he thinks I'm awesome. He even walked me home. Do you see my problem here?"

Before Leon could respond, the front door to Merlin's house opened and Jake sauntered in. Both Leon and Yuffie stared blatantly, as the man was wearing a poofy, sequin-covered green dress, complete with heels and elbow-length silver gloves. He was wearing a name tag that simply said "Hello my name is Never Doubt Tifa Again".

"Looks like somebody lost a bet." Yuffie snickered.

Jake looked unashamed. "You're just jealous 'cuz I make this look GOOD."

Leon calmly set down the decorations that he had been untangling, stood, and walked out of the house. His weird meter had officially been maxed out for the day on that note.

**..:-X-:..**

**066 – The Nameless**

The desert air of Agrabah was hot and dry, whipping sand up from the dunes to distort where the golden earth ended and the cloudless blue sky began. Aerith had wrapped a wide pink scarf around her head to shield herself from the sun and the violent wind of the outer desert. The city of Agrabah was a glint in the distance, and she had her back to it. She was more interested in the structure in front of her.

The stone walls of the prison blended in almost imperceptibly with the desert sand. That was the point. The most dangerous criminals and psychopaths in the Alliance were within those four walls, surrounded by a five day walk through the desert in all directions. Any escapees would never reach water or civilization before the elements claimed them. And there had never been any escapees.

With a hard swallow, Aerith stepped away from her Gummi ship and toward the front doors of the prison. This place wasn't supposed to exist. It didn't even have a proper name. It was simply known as Jinx. It seemed ironic that she would come here now, to talk to an inmate who didn't even have a proper name either. The letter was burning a hole in her hand, where it was clenched between her fingers.

She was escorted wordlessly through the musky halls. The corridors were lit only by the tiny windows in the stone walls and the occasional torches on either sides of the doors. No communication was ever allowed in or out of this prison. These prisoners had no one on the outside to talk to. Most of them were locked in solitary confinement anyway.

"The cell at the very end of the hall." Her escort, a burly man with a bald head, said.

He stopped walking with her, and she nodded, continuing on alone. Her footsteps seemed to echo down the hallway, but none of the other occupants in the cells stirred. This place unnerved her, but the letter in her hand and the cell at the end of the hall unnerved her more. She stopped two feet from the door, solid steel with only a small slot to peer inside the room beyond.

Aerith tugged the scarf from her head and reached up, sliding the slot open and looking inside. She said nothing and could see no one on the other side of the door. The occupant said nothing, but she knew he was there. She narrowed her eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" She snapped.

The inmate stirred. "I believe I should be asking you that. You're the one who just interrupted my solitary afternoon, m'dear."

Aerith seethed, lifting the letter. "Don't you dare—There's no way you could have access to this information."

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to make out the wiry figure of the man as he stood, sauntering over to the door. His voice was low and silky.

"Clearly." He whispered.

Aerith recoiled slightly. She would have to tread carefully with him. She hadn't been prepared for this molten rage that had erupted from her core upon being this close to him. To this monster. To this beast who had destroyed entire lives. She thought she had been strong enough to face him alone…but this…this hatred that was boiling inside her…She hadn't expected it to burn so strongly.

"Why did you send this to me?" She asked, as calmly as possible.

He leaned closer, eyes almost visible from the darkness of the room. "Conflict is interesting. And I have been very, very bored."

His nonchalant, almost teasing tone sent her over the edge. Aerith snarled and lifted her hand. Her mind snapped down to her fingertips, and she felt energy pour out of the stone and the fire around her. The essence spiraled toward her arm as though summoned and then jettisoned out of her palm. The magic illuminated the cell and twisted in thick vines around the man, slamming him against the opposite wall.

"Hey!" The bald guard was running up behind her. "You said you were just talking!"

Aerith hissed and withdrew her hand, flexing her fingers at her sides. The man staggered as he was released, but the fading light of the undercurrent magic illuminated his haggard appearance and grinning, twisted lips. The climate of this world made the core of Agrabah dry, hot, and temperamental, and as she had channeled the undercurrent, Aerith felt her own emotions being compromised.

Horror began to set in.

She had almost…

"You're done." The guard said, cautiously moving her away from the cell.

"I'm done." Aerith lifted a hand to her forehead, trembling suddenly.

She had almost lost control. She could have easily…

"Very interesting." The inmate said fluidly from inside the cell.

She turned her back to him, closing her eyes as she retreated down the hallway.

"You would have made an excellent specimen in Project Stasis." He called after her.

Aerith felt nausea sweep through her and she staggered out of Jinx and back out into the open air of Agrabah. She leaned against the outer wall and lifted a hand to her mouth, mortified. Things were starting to get out of control. What was she doing?

The letter in her hands was singed from the magic, and as she looked down, she could only make out three words amidst the long letter of secrets and upheaval.

_He is alive._

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **Although it may seem disjointed, A LOT of stuff was just revealed in this chapter. Some of it pretty obvious; some more obscure. Lots of teasers in this one for _Sentient Midnight_. Mwahaha.**  
**

**Preview for next week:** _What had started as a mere costume party under Aerith's direction at Merlin's house had, under Yuffie's reign, mutated into a block party of glow sticks, dry ice cauldrons, and so much candy that you could FEEL the sugar on your skin just by walking through the Borough._


	23. Halloween

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Jake, McCallister, Eddy, Trevor, and Duke. Happy Halloween to all! Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**067 – Devil on Your Shoulder**

Merlin's cottage was a mad house. Yuffie had gone absolutely overboard in her decorating for the Halloween Party. What had started as a mere costume party under Aerith's direction at Merlin's house had, under Yuffie's reign, mutated into a block party of glow sticks, dry ice cauldrons, and so much candy that you could FEEL the sugar on your skin just by walking through the Borough.

"Huh? What did I tell you?" Yuffie, dressed in a red tub top and black skinny jeans, adjusted the devil horns headband behind her ears as she nudged Tifa's shoulder with her elbow. "Is this a party or is this a party?!"

Tifa snorted and glanced around the sea of vampires, zombies, fairies, and—

"Is that supposed to be a pantomime horse?" She pointed.

Yuffie followed her gesture. "Yes it is." She announced gleefully. "Jake! You're missing your better half!"

Jake looked over at her, wearing the shaggy brown back end of the costume, waved, and pointed over to Eddy Lake from IT, who was wearing the ridiculous top half of the pantomime horse.

"That's pretty tame." Tifa noted. "Usually he goes all out for Halloween." She canted her head, "Though going as a horse's rear end is pretty fitting…"

"And what are you supposed to be?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow at Tifa.

Tifa was wearing her regular clothes, but she pointed to the Stetson that she had perched on her head. "Cowgirl, duh."

"That's lazy." Yuffie folded her arms. "Almost as bad as Cloud."

"Why, what did he come as?"

Yuffie deadpanned. "As Cloud." She looked around, "Where's Leon?"

She doubted that Leon would don any kind of costume either, but a gal could dream. As it was, he was fairly easy to spot…as someone had jammed a bright purple sequined hat with zebra trimming on his head. He also looked like he had consumed just enough alcohol to either not notice that it was there, or not care. He almost looked like he was dozing against the wall.

"A pimp's life is hard." Tifa noted with a snicker at the sight.

"Boo!" A voice chirped between them.

Tifa started slightly, but Yuffie squawked as Rinoa giggled, dressed in a white blouse and a short white skirt, halo headband in place.

"Hey, wow, geez, brave wearing white to this party. There's a vampire roaming around with a vial of fake blood…I think it's Biggs, but I can't say for sure…" Yuffie said.

Tifa wandered over to talk to Cloud, and Rinoa gestured to where Eddy and Jake were standing next to each other, two halves of a whole idiot.

"I know." Yuffie waved away her wordless question. "Hey! Let's go stand on either side of people and question their life choices."

Rinoa bobbed her head, "Okay!"

Their first victim turned out to be Private McCallister, who appeared to be making a beeline through the crowd like she was on a mission.

"McCal—Tabs—Oy!" Yuffie caught up to her, swinging up to the soldier's right side. "Where ya goin'?"

The soldier was just in her fatigues, per usual…No imagination, Yuffie inwardly moaned.

"Um…Nowhere…" McCallister dodged.

Rinoa slipped to the soldier's left side. "Having fun?"

"Sure. Yeah, great party." McCallister said flatly.

"Are you not even drunk?" Yuffie balked, hands on her hips. "I got Beverly to man the bar in here and you're not even partaking of the festivities!"

"Just because there's alcohol doesn't mean she has to get sloshed." Rinoa pointed out.

McCallister looked from Yuffie's devil costume to Rinoa's angel outfit, groaned, and wriggled out from between them. "Nope." And she bustled away. "Oh, by the way, there's a lumberjack outside looking for you."

"Trevor?" Rinoa looked to Yuffie. "Are you two dating now?"

Yuffie started to panic, but just as abruptly reached up and straightened her horns, making sure her costume was hugging all the right parts. "I dunno…but better the devil you know. Get it? Devil?"

Rinoa groaned, "Ugh, no, not with the puns. Go. Shoo." She waved her arms at her.

Yuffie swung by the makeshift bar, where Beverly—wearing a massive black and white wig as a Bride of Frankenstein—handed her a mystery cocktail. Yuffie took it and sauntered over to the first spot of flannel that she saw. Sure enough, the tall ginger man was talking to a vampire.

"Hey!" Yuffie greeted, swinging into the conversation. Trevor spun to her and smiled. "Biggs, go be creepy somewhere else." She gestured.

"I'm not Biggs. I'm Dracula! Ah ah ah!" Biggs swept his cape to his eyes and darted away.

Yuffie smirked as Trevor gave her an up-down-up look. "Devil." He lifted his beer to her in greeting.

"Lumberjack." She clinked her glass against his in a toast. "Glad you could make it."

**..:-X-:..**

**068 – Horse of a Different Color**

"Tabaeus!" Jake broke away from his partner in crime Eddy to catch up to the soldier as she moved into the back kitchen area of Merlin's house.

She slowed, glancing back at him. "Jake, hey."

Jake looked slightly sweaty: she attributed that to the dense looking bottom half of the horse costume. "Hey. Why aren't you dressed?"

She looked down at her fatigues. "I'm—"

"A soldier, right, but that's no fun!"

She huffed, "As opposed to being a horse's ass?"

Jake gawked with his mouth in a comically wide expression, but she smirked and folded her arms.

"Are you responsible for the purple hat?" She nodded toward where Commander Leonhart was steadily drinking and talking to Tifa and Cloud, seemingly oblivious to the monstrosity on his head.

"Aren't I always?" Jake beamed.

She looked at him. "You're always something, I'll admit that."

"So." Jake leaned against the doorframe. "You look nice."

"Eh? No, don't do that." She shook her head.

Jake blinked, "Do what?"

"Can we just—" She exhaled. "Can we just not?"

"Not…talk?"

"No…I mean…Ever since we went on that one date, you've been acting all…weird."

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of a weird guy."

"Yeah, but…flowers? Do I look like a girl who gets flowers? And the sweet little text messages and office visits…Don't get me wrong, it's cute, but…" She rubbed the back of her neck, unsure how to say this.

To be honest, the flowers and the texts and the visits were all very flattering. Utterly bizarre to think that someone was wasting that much energy on HER, but she was slowly warming up to it. It was just…this was Jake. The guy with whom she had shared a caustic, razor-like banter for years. Teasing and sarcasm and smart ass remarks…Suddenly he was being all…sweet and gentlemanly.

And it was freaking her out.

"Can we just be Tabaeus and Jake?" She finally said. "Without the…cutie-wutie—" She wiggled her hands around and stood in that give-me-sexy pose that photographers seemed to warp models into, "—you-jump-i-jump, you-complete-me, cavity couple?"

Jake eyed her steadily and she straightened.

"Two things." Jake lifted his fingers. "One…couple?"

She narrowed her eyes, "I meant—"

"You said couple." A smile spread across his mouth, "And two…can you PLEASE do that pose again?" He whipped out his phone for the camera application.

Piper, Aerith's grey cat, suddenly launched out from under the dining room table and darted past their feet. Both she and Jake squawked and jumped up onto the counter top. The cat growled and barreled into the living room…to the surprised shrieks of many.

Realizing that they had grabbed onto each other in their haste to escape the feline terror, Tabaeus detached herself and hopped back to the floor, straightening her uniform. Jake was slower to do so, readying his camera phone and looking to her for a pose.

"Ugh, you're an ass." She gestured to his outfit, "Literally."

"No, c'mon, you were really getting into something there…Was that your flirty pose?"

"I don't have a flirty pose!" She smacked his arm, cheeks getting hot.

Was she supposed to have a flirty pose? She had only been trying to mimick those female models in sexy commercials: popping their hips out and doing that weird posture with their shoulders back…

"Good, because you looked like you were having a seizure." Jake snorted.

"This is my actual uniform." Tabaeus warned, "I have a loaded gun."

"There's nowhere to run!" Jake broke into song, "No one can save me, the damage is done!"

"Oy!" Cid stepped out from the annex that connected the kitchen of Merlin's house to the stairway to the basement. His face and arms were covered in dark green body paint and make up. His hair was sprayed black and there were bolts attached to either side of his neck.

"Frankenstein's monster! You're even uglier in person." Jake jeered.

Cid straightened his tattered jacket and walked past them. He pointed at Jake. "Shut up." He pointed at Tabaeus. "Kiss him." He pointed to Yuffie and Rinoa, who were perching their heads on either side of Eddy—who was wearing the horse head, "And quit it!"

"Frankenstein lame!" Jake said in mock-broken speech.

Tabaeus snickered and abruptly kissed Jake, like a sneak attack. Jake froze, looking at her in surprise.

She lifted her shoulders, "I've never disobeyed an order, and I don't intend to start now." She said with a wink that was bordering on flirtatious.

**..:-X-:..**

**069 – Good Witch or a Bad Witch?**

Whoever had wrangled Duke into a white sheet with eye holes needed an award. The golden retriever was bounding throughout the Borough and Merlin's house like the ghost that she was supposed to be, barking at a few guests before heading upstairs and finding Aerith.

Aerith felt guilty for dumping this party on Yuffie. True, the girl had done a spectacular job in pulling it all together…sans the cotton candy machine in Merlin's private study…but Aerith excelled at parties and she usually loved throwing them. Ever since her visit to the Jinx facility, however, she just hadn't had the enthusiasm.

But she was only raising suspicion by being aloof tonight. So she had donned her black witch's outfit and fabulously gaudy make up and made her way to the party. Yet, just a few hours into it, here she was, in the upstairs rooms, where the party was not going on. Duke bounced her way in, tripping and snorting at the sheet as it tangled around her legs.

Aerith snorted and folded the letter in her hands, the same letter that had been plaguing her for weeks now. Pocketing it, she squatted in front of the dog.

"Oh, who put you up to this?" She said, freeing the dog's face from the sheet.

"That would be me." Tifa announced herself, having come upstairs to find her friend.

Aerith smiled and Duke keened, wagging her tail wildly and trying to lick Aerith's face. "I bet that was interesting."

Tifa snorted, "Not really. Duke, c'mere." She snapped her fingers.

Duke spun to her, wagging her tail, but didn't come. Tifa patted her thigh, bending over slightly. The dog continued to look at her, tongue lolling, but didn't come.

"Come." Tifa gestured again firmly.

Instead, Duke yipped and darted for the stairs. They heard her claws clack all the way down, and then Tifa looked back to Aerith and sat on the edge of the guest bed.

"We're working on that." She smirked, but then became serious. "What's going on?"

Aerith fidgeted with her hair. "Nothing. Just…busy."

Tifa narrowed one eye. "You've been 'busy' for a while now. Is everything okay?"

Aerith swallowed and sat beside her. "No. It's very not okay."

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **In Chapter 21, Leon said he had a mission and wouldn't be able to make the party. His presence at the party will be explained in a later chapter, as will Aerith's continuing debacle.

Coming up with the different costumes was fun. And I slipped Duke into this chapter too! I have missed her little cameos. Hopefully she'll sneak into more chapters.

Happy Halloween!

**Preview for next week:** _Tifa's thoughts always darted in all directions when she was in the nursery._


	24. Undiscovered Territory

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are McCallister and Eddy. **

**If you've read any of my stories before, you've probably noticed that in a lot of them, things get complicated and confusing for a while, before everything starts clicking together in the end. Well, I try to click as much together as possible and leave as few loopholes as I can. Anyway, we're reaching the point in this collection where it starts getting confusing. Don't get frustrated; it's supposed to be a little confusing. It will all make sense in the end, trust me. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**070 – Dangerous Ground**

As the gust of wind snapped outward from…whatever the Hell he had just witnessed, the force of it knocked the unsuspecting cigarette out of Cid's mouth. He paused, blinked, and stomped it out with his boot, already tapping out a new one.

Aerith dropped her hands from where she had been holding them outward, straightening and slightly out of breath. She swallowed and looked to him, self consciously, standing in the middle of the field of white flowers…that Cid knew had not been there fifteen minutes ago.

A long minute passed.

Cid merely lit his cigarette, slid one end of it between his lips, and took a few successive drags from it, exhaling smoke. Aerith continued to watch him warily for his reaction. The…magic or spell or whatever she had just done…had split through the rocky surface of the Great Maw, carving a jagged groove at least twenty feet from the flower field to the Ravine Trail. It looked like it went pretty deep.

"Well?" Aerith asked, finally growing impatient.

Cid tapped ash off the end of his cigarette. "That was different."

Her shoulders deflated. "Different? That's it?"

"What do you want me to say? Looked like a weirdass thunder spell to me." He shrugged.

Aerith scoffed, "Oh, I don't know. I only just rendered the pure energy of the Heart of Radiant Garden to my will and created something from nothing!" She gestured to the flowers around her.

"Sorry." Cid said. "It's impressive, Aerith. Really, I definitely ain't never seen anything like it before." He rubbed the side of his neck. "But the way you been carrying on about it and all the hours you been spending out here…You'd think you'd'a split the atom."

"But I have!" Aerith bounced on her heels. "This is raw energy, Cid. It's not like regular magic…It's not even magic to begin with! It's life energy, the soul of this world! It's volatile and dangerous and—"

"And you been poking it with a stick for the last few months." Cid said flatly.

Aerith started to snap back, paused, and sighed, "Basically."

"Why?"

His question seemed to catch her off guard. Cid had seen all kinds of magic. Fire, ice, wind, water, thunder…Sleep spells, paralysis spells, memory-eraser spells, laughing spells, transfiguration spells…Nearly fifteen years of war would grant you that exposure. And throughout all of that, he could honestly confess that he had never seen any 'magic' like this before. It was different, strange…dangerous. He liked different, strange, and dangerous. He just wasn't sure he liked it being handled by someone who wasn't Merlin or Yen Sid or someone who had trained for years in the craft.

"Can you think of the possibilities?" Aerith spread her hands at her sides. "This discovery could revolutionize the way we live."

"What's wrong with the way we live?" Cid lifted an eyebrow.

"I could use this undercurrent to create aqueducts, to transport water to all corners of our world." Aerith explained enthusiastically. "Bring life and trees and grass and flowers back to the barren wasteland outside the town perimeter." She gestured to the infertile purple rocks surrounding them. "Radiant Garden: fully restored to its former glory."

Cid grimaced slightly. "That'll require a lotta control." He gestured to the deep crack running through the ground. "This always happen when you lose control?"

Aerith smoothed her dress. "I'm working on it."

"Hey, I'm all for experimentin', but you better get a good idea of what you're dealin' with here." Cid pointed his cigarette at her. "Like you said, this stuff is being fueled by the heart of Radiant Garden. It's powerful, untamed, wild. Just because it's light, doesn't mean it'll be all warm and fuzzy when you can't handle it."

Aerith kept a stiff upper lip, her eyes flashing. "I can handle it." She folded her arms. "Some support from SOMEONE would be nice."

Cid knew that tone. That tone meant that ol' Cloud still wasn't on-board with this venture of Aerith's. Cid had seen Aerith tackle some pretty deep shit. If she said she could handle this new magic stuff, he trusted that she could. But then again…playing with matches was one thing. Playing with the heart of an entire world…

"Do you know what you're doin'?" He prompted.

She looked defensive, but sensed that it was a real question. "I have to." She cleared her throat. "Everybody else is contributing to the war effort. I think it's about time I did."

Her expression was both angry and self conscious. Cid put out his cigarette.

"Where is this comin' from all of a sudden?"

Aerith swallowed and reached into her pocket, taking out a creased up piece of paper. "A few weeks ago…before the Halloween Party…I didn't dump the party on Yuffie because I was busy." She looked to Cid. "I was in Agrabah. This letter came from the Jinx facility."

Cid stared at the letter and soaked in her words. He lifted his eyes to her. "He lies." He said stonily. "Don't play his games, Aerith. Whatever he told you…you remember what he did."

"That's just the point." She looked exasperated. "I don't think he's lying."

**..:-X-:..**

**071 – Pairing Up**

"Aerith's cat hates me." Rinoa lamented.

Beside her, Private McCallister finished dismantling her standard issue Glock pistol on the desk, not looking up as she started cleaning it. "That cat hates everybody."

"Not Cloud." Rinoa slumped in the chair behind Eddy Lake's desk in the IT Department of the Alliance building. Eddy was out of the office all day, and Rinoa had volunteered to hold down the fort…which meant she was delegating work to everybody else while the rest of IT demanded that she not touch any computers…ANY of the computers. "This cat loves Cloud and hates everybody else."

She watched the soldier peer down the nose of the weapon, "And you have no idea how ironic that is." McCallister said dryly.

"Speaking of…I don't think Cloud likes me either." Rinoa fidgeted.

"I have literally never seen you two in the same room." The private remarked.

"We've talked…elevator conversation anyway…He mostly just…nods or grunts and doesn't really make eye contact or smile."

McCallister nodded with a grunt, still not looking up from her task.

Rinoa dropped her palm to the desk surface. "Are you listening to me?"

McCallister looked up with a deadpan expression. "He's not a very emotional person. He doesn't show it anyway. The same goes for Commander Leonhart, and most of the soldiers that serve under those two. It just…comes with the turf." She shrugged and went back to cleaning her gun.

Rinoa narrowed one eye. "Why do you do that?"

"So the trigger won't jam during a battle."

"No, no." Rinoa waved a hand, "I mean…You never refer to anybody by their first names. It's always 'Commander Leonhart' or 'Lieutenant Lockhart.' You've known these people for, like, five years. Aren't you past the formalities?"

"They're my superiors." The soldier said absently. "The first name basis is reserved for equals or friends."

"So you don't see Leon as your…equal?" Rinoa lifted an eyebrow.

McCallister looked up again. "Of course not. He is my commanding officer."

"As your friend?" Rinoa pressed, utterly perplexed by the soldier.

McCallister eyed her steadily. "Comrade."

"You refer to Jake Alms by his first name." Rinoa smirked, knowing that she was pushing McCallister's buttons.

"Jake is a civilian." The private's face was reddening as the conversation topic turned. "And…and my relationship with him is far less…" She gave a vague gesture. "than with Commander Leonhart."

Rinoa sat back, "So all these years, you've never developed any…feelings…for Leon?"

McCallister glared. "Don't be ridiculous."

Rinoa smirked. Ruffling the woman's feathers was too fun. "You're weird."

McCallister snorted, but neither accepted nor denied the accusation. She finished cleaning her gun and began reassembling it.

"Are you and Jake dating now or what?" Rinoa asked after a long moment of silence.

McCallister stood and holstered her gun. "What is with all these questions?"

"It just seems like everybody has somebody on this world except me." Rinoa folded her arms, remaining seated. "Leon and Tifa. Aerith and Cloud. Cid and that bartender chick. You and Jake. Yuffie and Trevor."

"They're dating?" McCallister lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously dating?"

"Three times over the past two weeks." Rinoa shrugged. "Sounds like dating to me."

"Kingdom Hearts have mercy on that man's soul." McCallister sighed.

The office door opened and Eddy sauntered in.

"Hi, Rinoa." He greeted. "Sorry that took so long. I got caught up in—"

His eyes drifted to Private McCallister, more specifically to the emblem on the collar of her fatigues denoting her as a soldier in the Weapons Specialist Department. His eyes widened. Rinoa blinked at his reaction: Leon's department seemed to carry a lot of clout around here.

"What's the problem? Do you need something?" He said, looking panicky. "I told my interns to take care of the elevator to Leonhart's department, but if they haven't gotten—"

"Whoa." McCallister raised her hands placatingly. "At ease. I was just leaving."

With that, the private sent an absent wave of goodbye to Rinoa and left the office.

Eddy muttered goodbye to her as she passed and closed the door after her. He immediately looked to Rinoa. "What did she want?"

"We were just talking." Rinoa stood from behind the desk. "Nothing important."

Eddy looked confused. "I didn't know Leonhart's interns had social lives."

Rinoa laughed and straightened her jacket. "You don't know the half of it."

**..:-X-:..**

**072 – Decisions, Decisions**

Tifa felt like they had been painting for hours. The nursery in the house was bright with sunlight coming in through the open windows, but the refraction of light was becoming less glaring as she and Leon covered the white walls with the pastel green paint. She had been working on the same space for fifteen minutes, but her mind had been rolling all over the place. Her thoughts always darted in all directions when she was in this room.

"I think," She started, giving her wrist a break from pushing the paint roller up and down the wall. "I want to have her at home."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, working on the opposite wall.

Tifa turned around to look at him, "I mean, not at a hosp—whoa."

While she had been working on the same wall of the nursery for the past hour, Leon had managed to canvas the other three walls with the first coat of paint, and he looked to be halfway through the second coat. He set his own paint roller down.

"You mean give birth to her…here?" He pointed to the floor.

"How did you paint all of this so fast?" She gawked at the walls.

"No, wait, go back to what you just said—" Leon made a re-wind motion with his hands. "Where there're no doctors or equipment or medical attention?"

"Seriously, who taught you how to paint?" She looked from his handiwork to hers.

"Tifa." Leon sounded suddenly exasperated.

She looked at him and the sheer terror that danced across Leon's face sombered her.

"Yes." She answered. "What do you think?"

He paused, "I think it worries me."

Tifa walked over to him. "I don't need doctors or equipment or any of that. Childbirth is a natural human event. It's not an injury or a sickness that needs healing. I think THAT's what hospitals are for."

"You say that now." He made sure he wasn't wearing any of the paint before he sat back into the cushioned recliner that they'd moved into the nursery: the only piece of furniture aside from the crib. "But what if something happens?"

Tifa slid over and sat across his lap on the recliner. "The only thing that is going to happen is that we are going to have a bouncing baby girl in a few months."

Leon wrapped his arms around her securely, not looking placated. "I'm just…concerned…I want you and the baby to have the best care as possible when the day comes. So that if there are complications—"

She silenced him with a kiss, cupping the side of his face with one hand. After the kiss, she bopped her nose against his nose once and sat back. "We can take all of the necessary precautions and get all the information before then. The doctor says I'm healthy, the baby's healthy; there haven't been any problems or any reason to think that there would be a problem." She twirled a few fingers through his hair in a soothing motion. "And I know what you're thinking."

He huffed, "What am I thinking?"

"You're thinking about your mother." She said gently. "I understand why this worries you…I really do, but I feel really strongly about this."

His expression tightened and he averted his eyes to her stomach. Without responding, he shifted one hand from her side to stroke the growing bump. Tifa let the silence linger. Neither of them had a pleasant feeling about hospitals. They and the others on the Restoration Committee had been in and out of the hospitals in one bloody mess or another so often throughout the war, that it had left a sour taste in their mouths. Add to that the fact that Leon's stress levels had been increasing as they got closer to the due date. He tried to hide it, but he had never been good at lying. She knew the circumstances of his biological mother's death weighed heavy on him. The words 'cursed' and 'responsible' had been tossed around on occasion when he actually talked about it.

"You…" She started, paused, and started again. "What do you think?"

He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. "I can't say that I love the idea, but—"

"We don't have to make a decision right at this moment." She touched his knee. "I mean, this is the lead-in to a long conversation."

Some relief graced his features at that and he relaxed a little. "Right, yeah."

"But first, I have one burning question." She lifted a finger.

He shifted a little, arms still around her. "And what would that be?"

"Where did you learn to paint that fast?" She glanced around the nursery again.

Leon snorted and pulled her close. Tifa came forward with the nudge and he kissed her. She smiled as she returned it. After the kiss, she got more comfortable, deciding that it was officially break time from painting for a while. She tilted her head against the top of the chair above his head.

"I love you." Leon murmured. "Both of you."

Tifa paused. His protective tone sounded like he was making a promise. "And we love you." She said. "You want to head downstairs?"

"Maybe in a little while." He replied slowly.

She nodded in agreement, and they remained where they were, sitting in each other's arms in the nursery for a while.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **I apologize for any cavities that that last one might have caused. It couldn't be helped.

**Preview for next week:** _"Aren't time travelers supposed to be all secretive and withhold information?"_


	25. Paradox Part Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs—ya'll know 'em by now.**

**..:-X-:..**

**073 – Newbies**

"Ooh, check out the fresh meat." Yuffie rubbed her hands together maliciously.

Beside her, Leon looked up from his clipboard to follow her gaze to the new recruits that were piling out of the recently arrived Gummi Ships. About once every quarter of the year, ships would flood Radiant Garden with new, fresh faced, bright eyed soldiers who had decided to leave their individual bases on their home worlds to train in Radiant Garden: the veritable epicenter of the military Alliance. Leon and the rest of the Restoration Committee usually took bets to see how long most of the newbies would last.

On Leon's other side, Private McCallister was also looking at a clipboard. As was the norm, a painfully high number of soldiers had applied for the Weapons Specialist Department. Leon had, from the beginning of the Alliance, put out very stringent requirements to screen out applicants and was very selective about who he accepted. To date, his department was the smallest in the Alliance. Unfortunately, this meant that all new recruits saw this as a personal challenge and would submit applications to his field by the boxful.

Sure enough, between his and McCallister's clipboards, there were roughly 370 applications coming from the 500 newbies that were clamoring out of the ships. They were loud, they were excitable, and they were very, very green around the gills. Everything about Radiant Garden impressed them…and did he mention that they were loud.

"Newbies." He murmured under his breath with a grimace. "You've got a few openings in your department, right, Yuffie?" He asked her.

"But of course. I'm always willing to pluck the little puppies from the field and train them to become merciless pitbulls of awesome!" Yuffie remarked.

"You should get that on a T-shirt." McCallister mumbled.

Yuffie and Leon looked at her.

The soldier lifted her eyes to them. "Pitbulls of awesome…sounds like a bowling team."

Yuffie snorted and went off to scout, while Leon rubbed his eyes at the slurring names on the clipboard sheet.

"What's the damage?" He prompted.

"Looks like 378 applications in total, sir." McCallister replied. "Here comes one now."

Leon glanced at her and then out toward the hangar floor. Sure enough, a young man with wild brown hair and freckles was ambling over. He had a thick build but moved quick on his feet. Leon folded his arms, tapping the clipboard in his hand against his side. This would go one of two ways, in his experience. Either this guy was going to be an egotistical prick who had seen a cowboy movie at some point in his life and therefore thought he knew everything about weapons, guns, and swords…OR this guy was going to be a simpering little bitch who wanted to get in with a superior officer early and bank on playing teacher's pet to get into the program. Either way, Leon wasn't looking forward to it.

"Commander Leonhart." The soldier greeted. "Hi, my name is Tom Laurel. I've applied for your Weapons Specialist Department program."

"Keep walking." Private McCallister piped in, not looking up from her clipboard.

Laurel looked wrongfooted, glancing to the soldier and back to Leon. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to put a face to the name on the application. It's an honor to finally meet you."

Leon remained impassive. "You know you have to survive Basic Training under Cloud Strife first, right?" He said flatly.

Laurel bobbed his head, "Yes, sir. You can count on me!"

Then he did what Leon judged to be the most awkward salute ever and then trundled away to rejoin his fellow newbies. Leon watched him go, amused, and then looked to McCallister. "What're his grades?"

McCallister was already looking at Laurel's application on her clipboard. "He's high on teamwork, defense, and organization…but his actual shooting scores are terrible."

"Well, you weren't exactly glowing when I accepted you." He ribbed. She gave him a flat look at that, and he snorted at her before glancing back to the hangar floor. "Sounds like Aerith's kind of soldier." He commented.

Yuffie had immersed herself in the mass of hopeful soldiers, chatting them up and feeling them out. She was very hands-on when it came to recruiting; Leon preferred the process-of-elimination approach. If they survived basic under Cloud—which was no picnic—and had the marks, he'd consider them. But there had been plenty of times when—

"That unbelievable whore." Came a low, sizzling hiss.

Leon blinked, concentration broken, and slowly swiveled his head to look at Private McCallister. She was rigid as a steel beam, staring across the hangar floor. Her face was quickly paling and her eyes were filled with poison. Leon had never seen that expression on his soldier before. Disturbed, he followed her gaze to a petite blond woman who was stepping off the Gummi. She had a very wide and toothy smile, and the male soldiers were tripping over themselves to aid her. Now…Leon knew that McCallister wasn't exactly a lady-like woman who wanted men to hold doors for her…but she had never expressed contempt for those women who were like that…And certainly not this kind of hatred. This kind of hatred was inspired by people you knew personally.

He reached out and took her clipboard. "Take a walk, McCallister." He said warily. As she immediately spun 180 degrees and marched away, he decided to find out who this woman was who had the power to rattle his best soldier so easily.

**..:-X-:..**

**074 – Catching Up**

Aerith was sitting in one of the chairs in Tifa's office. "A homebirth, huh?"

Hunched at her computer and trying to finish off the latest reports that were due by the end of the week, Tifa bobbed her head once, eyes never straying from the monitor. "Yeah, we talked all week about it. I think we're going to do it."

"That sounds wonderful." Aerith said dreamily. "And what of painkillers?"

Tifa rattled off the final sentence in the latest report and saved the document, sitting back and rubbing her eyes. "I have nothing against them, but I don't want them. Painkillers make me all—" She make cuckoo gestures around her head, "And I don't need to be like that during delivery."

Aerith nodded in understanding. "How's Leon taking it?"

"What part? The homebirth part, the soon-to-be-parents part, or the whole baby part?" Tifa snickered. "I bet he cries when she's born."

A surprise laugh burst out of Aerith. "You bet?"

"Oh, oh, yeah." Tifa leaned her head back in emphasis. "Big, big man tears."

"But you won't cry?" Aerith pried.

"I will promise no such thing." Tifa ran hand over her stomach, and didn't miss Aerith's almost envious glance at the bump. "But I'll be hormonal and in pain, so I have an excuse."

Aerith made a noncommittal noise and seemed to snap out of whatever trance she'd drifted into for a few seconds. "So, you're seven months along now, and you two still haven't picked out a name?"

"It's hard, okay?" Tifa whined. "And Leon is a terrible name-picker."

"Or maybe you're a terrible name-picker and you just can't appreciate the greatness of Leon's suggestions." Aerith offered loftily.

Tifa looked at her. "Did he pay you to say that?"

Aerith chuckled and sighed. "You're so lucky. You're going to be a mother and have this beautiful little bundle to hold in your arms…" She trailed off a little before sitting up. "What does it feel like…when she kicks?"

"Weird." Tifa answered quickly. "Really, really strange at first. She moves all the time now, but at first…It's nothing I've ever felt before."

"Yeah, Cloud said you freaked out a little." Aerith snickered.

"I did not freak out; I got excited." Tifa responded. "Speaking of, are you two okay?"

At the conversation shift, Aerith looked uncomfortable. "I guess so."

"You guess so?" Tifa smelled trouble.

"It's…I mean, we're not FIGHTING or anything." Aerith fiddled with the braid of her hair. "We just haven't really been talking lately."

"Is it the research thing?" Tifa moved the mouse of her computer to select printing preferences on the finished report.

Aerith watched the printer chug to life and laboriously begin printing the pages. "We have kinda moved past that. He's still not okay with it…but he's respecting that it's my decision." She fidgeted some more. "But there's this woman he keeps talking about."

Tifa, who had been taking a sip from her lemonade, nearly spit it all over her keyboard. "You think there's another woman?" She tried not to laugh.

The idea of Cloud cheating on Aerith was about as ridiculous as Leon cheating on Tifa. If they liked being attached to their penises, they would never dare to cheat.

"No…not like that." Aerith shook her head. "He thinks he met a time traveler lady."

Tifa stared at her for a beat. "Time traveler."

"I know it sounds ridiculous."

"Of course it sounds ridiculous." Tifa pointed out. "Why does he think he met one?"

Aerith lifted her shoulders. "Something about a blue flash of light and talking to Merlin."

"Well, there you go." Tifa snapped her fingers. "Merlin loves the idea of time travel. She was probably some drifter from another world with a half-rate teleporter device, and Merlin wanted to make it sound more zazzy than it was."

"Maybe." Aerith frowned, "But the whole thing is making him paranoid."

Tifa remained deadpan. "Did he go to one of Jake Alms' special brownie parties?"

"Not that I know of." Aerith ran a hand over her face. "Then there's this whole letter problem." She paused.

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Cid told me. You don't actually believe that—that—" Anger boiled up inside her and she closed her eyes briefly. She reached over and snatched the finished document from the printer.

Aerith sighed, "Take it easy. He's in prison. He's never getting out. He can't hurt anyone ever again."

"Then what do you call this?" Tifa gestured to the empty air between them. "We're still talking about him. THAT is what is so—" Hot tears hit her eyes and she hiccupped. "Curse these…hormones!" She wiped at her eyes, staring at the ceiling until they abated.

**..:-X-:..**

**075 – The Paradox, Part Two**

There is no inconspicuous way to run through town. Cloud discovered that fairly quickly as he bolted through Radiant Garden, narrowly avoiding civilians and push-carts and boxes as he careened toward the town perimeter. Eugenia Harker, the widow who lived by herself at the edge of town, had called him again personally to come take care of 'that same damn problem with the blue lights, the yelling, and the damn disruptions.'

This was the first sign of anything regarding that strange woman that Cloud had come across since that fateful night, and he wanted to get out there, find that woman, and get some answers before she ran away again. He reached the Harker property a few minutes later, slightly winded from the sprint, and feeling a little embarrassed for the zeal that this mystery was giving him. Shaking it off, he moved toward the original alley where he'd seen her first, fighting that zombie guy with the black snake.

Sure enough…

"Hey, you!" Cloud rounded the corner, spotting someone in the alley.

The woman had been squatting with her back to him, looking for something, given her posture. She started slightly at his yell, half spinning and remaining crouched, but her hand moved to the gun at her hip. Upon seeing Cloud, however, that same flash of recognition dawned in her eyes. This time, however, she didn't evaporate into the air.

"Why is it always you?" She stood on her feet, facing him. "You shouldn't be here."

"Are you a time traveler?" He demanded, sparing the pleasantries.

Her dark hair was pulled back, same as last time, but her long bangs were framing her face. Her eyes were narrow. "Don't ask stupid questions."

"Stupid because you're not or stupid because you are?" He pressed. "I deserve to know."

"Why?" She cocked one hip and folded her arms. "What does it matter to you? I've got some business to take care of and it doesn't involve you. So go home, Cloud."

He pointed at her. "There! How do you know my name?"

"With hair like that," Her gaze flickered up to his hair and back to his eyes. "your name gets thrown around a lot around here."

"Why are you here?" He demanded. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

She pursed her lips for a moment, "I'm hunting."

"Hunting? Hunting what?" He took a step closer to her, lowering his voice.

She exhaled. "A hybrid creature called a Leech. A mixed breed between a Nobody and a Heartless. They attack in pairs. That snake thing? That's half of the team. I'm trying to find the other half." She swallowed. "It's a parasite that latches onto its victims and uses them as a host. They drain the life energy out of the host while they use their body to wreak havoc and destruction."

"So that guy was—"

"A puppet, yeah." She rubbed her forehead. "He was my work partner. We were hunting this thing together. He was already dead by the time you got there. He had probably been dead for a while. He had to be put down."

"Oh…sorry." Cloud blurted quickly before asking. "You're wearing the same clothes that you were that night…and your cuts are still fresh…I saw you in this alley nearly a month ago. How long ago was that for you?"

The accusation of time travel hung naked in the air, and the woman danced around it.

"A few minutes." She said with a smirk. "Thanks for helping me out that night."

Cloud frowned, "Who are you?"

"Nobody worth remembering." She winked. "Just call me Agent Mike. The organization that I work for hunts the mutated remnants of the Heartless."

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "A time travel organization?"

She chuckled throatily. "Sure. Whatever floats your boat, blondie."

"You're awfully chatty this time." Cloud said suspiciously. "Aren't time travelers supposed to be all secretive and withhold information?" After a beat, he asked. "Why did you recognize me that night? Were you scared?"

"Of you?" She looked amused at the idea. "No. I just wasn't expecting to end up…" She cut off abruptly, as though realizing what she was doing. "I should go."

She started to reach for that mechanism on her wrist: the time travelling device, Cloud assumed.

"Wait." Cloud lifted a hand. "Do we know each other?"

Agent Mike paused and smiled. "Not yet."

And with that, she winked and activated the device. With a flash of blue light and a gust of wind, she was gone, and Cloud was left standing alone in the alley…again.

"The Hell, man!" He barked at no one.

Widow Eugenia Harker stomped out onto her front porch, gray hair flying wild. "Will you shut up! Let an old woman take a nap!"

Cloud cringed and started walking back toward town.

Well, that had answered few questions and created a thousand more.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **The woman that McCallister raged at will be coming back; this was just her teaser intro. Cloud and Aerith's relationship situation is definitely a slow burn, but, believe me, the tipping point is coming.

The Paradox subplot was supposed to be a three-part bit, but I'm considering extending it to five parts. It's just been entertaining to write. I'm loving the theories about who this time traveler is…if she really is a time traveler…

**Preview for next week:** _"You sure know how to romance a woman."_


	26. Cid and Beverly's First Real Date

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Beverly, Jake, McCallister, and Mindy Tallman. And Duke and Piper the cat of course. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**076 – Date Night**

Eating pizza by the fireplace during a rainstorm: there were worse ways to spend a first date.

Rain clattered over the worn tiles of the roof of Merlin's house, blending in with the muted thunder that broke over the town. The power had gone out half an hour ago. Luckily Cid had salvaged some dry firewood and kindled a healthy fire. Also luckily, the local pizza place still had power and so they had ordered delivery pizza.

"My only regret," Beverly chirped, sitting on the couch in the living room with a slice of pizza held in both hands, "is that I wore my good shoes in this storm."

Cid snorted, sitting on the floor beside her legs. He glanced down at the black high heels that she was wearing: covered in mud and scuffed from running out of the rain. He trailed his eyes from her feet, up her legs, over her knees, and along her thighs to her oh-so-short denim skirt. She had clearly dressed up more for this date than he had.

"Yeah, that's…" He reached down to one of her shoes, undoing the buckle on it. "…quite a shame. Y'know, you got soaked out in that rain. You really shouldn't wear wet clothes."

Beverly chuckled and shifted her feet away. "Ah, ah, you may look, but you may not touch, Mr. Highwind." She winked and stuck the rest of the slice of pizza between her teeth, freeing up her hands to remove her shoes by herself.

Cid finished his pizza. "Prude." He ribbed lightly, glancing across the living room.

Leon and Tifa's golden retriever, Duke, was where Cid had left her, lying on her belly and pawing at Aerith's grey cat Piper, keening and trying to get the feline to play with her. Cid had been tasked with dog-sitting Duke and cat-sitting Piper while the women threw Tifa a baby shower over the weekend. At first, he hadn't minded, but it turned out that Beverly was a big animal person, and most of her attention had been focused on playing with the pets.

"Well, fine, you don't get to touch either, Miss…Miss…" He frowned. "Beverly."

"Hrr dernt eern nrr m'lfft nrn!" Beverly babbled.

Cid twisted around to look at her, just as she tugged her pizza out of her mouth, chewed, and hastily swallowed the bite.

"You don't know my last name?" She asked again, more clearly.

Cid blinked, "You've never mentioned it."

Beverly started to look irritated, then snorted and leaned sideways, bringing her legs up onto the couch behind his head. "Hm, I kinda like that. Makes me feel mysterious."

Duke barked at the cat, and Piper hissed, ears flattening back on his head.

"Hmph." Cid grunted, stretching his shoulders back on the seat of the couch. "So, on a scale of one to ten, where do you rank this date?"

"Oh, you do know how to make a girl feel special." Beverly cooed, polishing off her slice of pizza. "Sans the mud." She looked woefully to her ruined shoes.

Cid climbed to his feet and perched on the edge of the couch by her knees. "Don't pull that. You're hardly one to complain when something gets…dirty."

She cackled and folded her arms across her low cut blue blouse. "You dog. Here we were, having a sophisticated, adult dinner, and you manage to make it perverted."

"I would never dream of it." Cid snickered, running one calloused hand up her leg until he reached her hip. "You were the one who mentioned mud."

Beverly giggled and reclined against the armrest, neither encouraging him nor fighting him. Cid smirked and leaned forward, kissing her on the mouth. She returned the kiss and lifted her hands to his ribs, running them up along his back.

"Okay." She whispered, "You can touch a little."

He tilted his head at her and kissed her again. She sat up slightly so he could get an arm under her back. Kissing her neck, he sat up, lifting her as he did so and twisting around until Cid was sitting up properly on the couch, leaning against the backrest with Beverly sitting on his lap, straddling his legs. She placed her hands on either side of his jaw, kissing him deeply.

Duke's sudden barking made them both jump in surprise. Cid ended up sitting forward abruptly. This caused Beverly to bite his lip, and his recoil caused him to end up butting his forehead against her nose.

"Ow!" He lifted a hand to his bleeding lip. "Dammit!"

"Ack!" Beverly clutched her nose.

Duke barked again, and then both glared over at the canine. Piper the grey cat shot out from his hiding place from the dog, clawing at Duke's face and bolting for the kitchen. Duke yipped and clamored to her feet, giving chase and knocking over a lamp in the process. Both Cid and Beverly cringed as the lamp shattered on the floor. More noises accompanied the mischief of the animals in the back room.

Cid ran his tongue over the cut on his lip; it wasn't too bad. Beverly massaged her nose and wiped at the pained tears that had sprung unwarranted to her eyes.

"You okay?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. You sure know how to romance a woman." She snorted.

"So is the mood ruined?" He prompted.

She scoffed and leaned in, kissing him again. "Shut up, you dog."

**..:-X-:..**

**077 – Confusing Times**

Mindy Tallman. Leon stared at the intern application. This was the petite blond whose mere presence in Radiant Garden had rattled Private McCallister. She had no criminal record nor military record beyond recruitment. She came from a well-off family and had good marks on her application…Okay, her marks were spotless…But beyond being from the same hometown as McCallister, Leon couldn't figure out why his soldier seemed to despise the other woman.

"What kind of name is Mike?" Cloud was still fuming.

Leon glanced up from the application. They were the only two in the backroom of Merlin's house that afternoon. Leon was trying to figure out this Mindy versus McCallister situation; Cloud had come to Merlin's house looking for Tifa and had found Leon instead.

"Probably wasn't her real name." Leon grunted, flipping the page of Tallman's application. "This 'agent' sounds sketchy…You've been training Mindy Tallman in basic…What's she like?"

Cloud blinked at him. "Oh, she's a Sagittarius and enjoys long walks on the beach…How the Hell do I know?" He folded his arms, slouching in his seat. "I've got two hundred soldiers in basic right now. I can't tell any of them apart at this stage."

Leon frowned, "McCallister hates her for some reason."

"Does she ever really like anybody?" Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Mike is a time traveler; she was wearing the same clothes and had the same wounds that she had over a month ago when I first saw her."

"So what if she is?" Leon shrugged.

Time travel clearly didn't interest Leon as much as it had gotten under Cloud's skin. If there was such a thing as time travel, clearly Leon and company's little corner of the time continuum wasn't very interesting to them, as they would have been more of a threat. Leon had enough problems worrying about the people in this section of history without worrying about people from centuries after him.

"She knew me. She said I didn't know her 'yet'." Cloud emphasized. "Which means she's from my future. Radiant Garden's future. Maybe she's from a time after this damn war has ended and she's…I dunno…Maybe this 'Leech' hybrid monster thing is a time traveling evil…thing." He waved a hand vaguely.

Leon ignored him, reading over the application again. Private McCallister wasn't very emotional; it was one of the qualities that had caused him to select her as his first intern. He knew she had few friends, but he realized it was probably naïve to assume a soldier so close to the top of the Alliance wouldn't have enemies. But why Tallman? She appeared to be cheerful, popular, and ladylike: practically McCallister's anti-thesis.

"Did you really end up on the no-fly list?" Cloud suddenly questioned.

"Hm? Oh." Leon set the application down; he was getting nowhere with it anyway. "Yeah, I was supposed to head the mission to Enchanted Castle around Halloween. Apparently there was some mix up with paperwork and I ended up on the no-fly list."

Cloud snorted at that.

Leon rubbed his eyes. "Turned out it was supposed to be one of Yuffie's men. His wife was pregnant with twins, and he didn't want to leave Radiant Garden, since she was due in a few weeks."

"Yeah…little early for you to be getting that treatment." Cloud smirked.

"By the time they realized the mistake…whatever." Leon made an absent gesture and glanced over to Cloud. "Maybe your time traveler friend did it, made sure I was at Yuffie's party. She was probably the one who put that ridiculous hat on me."

Cloud deadpanned, "You're mocking me."

Leon held his index finger and his thumb an inch apart. "Just a little bit."

Cloud exhaled and stood, "You suck."

"Hey, if you run into this Agent Mike, tell her thanks for all the incriminating photos. Tifa will be using them for years."

Cloud glared as he walked across the living room. "You're an ass."

From his spot on the couch, Leon snickered. "C'mon. You have to admit that it sounds a slightly stupid: time travelling women."

"You want to talk about slightly stupid?" Cloud folded his arms. "You're the one sitting there investigating the past between one of your soldiers and another recruit."

"McCallister had an emotion. That's…worthy of investigation." Leon pointed out.

"Fine, fine, whatever. While YOU're in here trying to figure out the mind of a woman, I'M going to be out there, solving time travel."

"Whatever." Leon rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should spend some time trying to figure out the mind of a woman…One woman in particular."

When Cloud looked at him, Leon just lifted an eyebrow.

"Aerith?" Cloud said. "Have you talked to her?"

"Have you?" Leon lifted the other eyebrow. "You've been obsessed with this Agent Mike for over a month, but when was the last time you talked to Aerith about her research?"

"Oh yeah? How's the whole naming your unborn child thing going?" Cloud snapped.

Leon glared, "You son of a bitch."

**..:-X-:..**

**078 – Brought to You by the Letter M**

"Oh…wow…it's a…thing." Tifa tore the rest of the wrapping paper away, looking uncertainly at the gift inside. "…Thanks, Aerith."

"It's a pappoose." Aerith chimed proudly.

Tifa held the thing up, turned it over, and then turned it back right side up. "Oh, I see now. To carry the baby, hands free, nice."

"Can't wait to see Leon wearin' that thing." Yuffie snorted.

Tifa chuckled and let Aerith hand her the next gift. "This one's from…Rinoa." She glanced over to the other woman, who smiled and gave her thumbs up.

The baby shower was just their small group: Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, Rinoa, Beverly, and somehow Jake Alms had snuck in and joined the party. He had initially just stopped by to drop off McCallister's gift, since the soldier was on a mission, but he had managed to invite himself to join. Tifa had been in too good a mood to argue with him.

Tearing open the wrapping and opening the box, Tifa first tugged out a stuffed, blue elephant toy that was roughly the size of a football. "Aw, this is cute." Holding that in one hand, she dug out the other item in the box. "Baby's book of fists." She read the title.

"Awwwwwww." Aerith cooed.

"First smile, first words, first steps…" Rinoa offered with a smile.

"First diaper change." Beverly chimed in, "I babysat for a friend for a while several years ago…All the horror stories about diaper changing are true."

Tifa looked at the older woman warily. "Well, we've been through war. I think Leon and I can handle a diaper."

"Diapers." Jake corrected, "Dozens. Mountains of diapers." He gestured. "Your bundle of joy is also going to be a tiny poop factory."

The women all looked at him.

He shrugged, "What? I babysit too sometimes."

"People actually leave their children with you?" Yuffie teased.

Tifa chortled and set the stuffed elephant and the book beside the other gifts, including the electronic baby monitors that Beverly had given her and the black onesie from Yuffie that read: "My awesome ninja aunt loves me."

"Har har." Jake snorted, handing Tifa the gift from McCallister. "I'll have you know that I will be a fantastic babysitter for little Michelle."

"Michelle?" Aerith blinked, looking Tifa. "Did you guys finally decide on a name?"

Tifa started to open the box. "Er, we decided on a letter." At their blank looks, she huffed. "Picking a name is hard, guys, okay? We had to narrow it down somehow. So…we decided that we liked names that started with M…so…we're going from there."

"Is Michelle at the top of the list?" Yuffie prompted.

"Well…I like Mckenzie…Leon likes Milly…" Tifa rattled off, tugging the box open.

"Then there's Madeline, Mindy, Morgana, Medusa—" Rinoa added.

"Medusa?" Aerith's eyebrows shot up.

"Or Morgan…Monique, Melissa, Maria, Marjorie, Mikayla…" Jake joined in.

Tifa looked at him. "What?"

"What is that?" Beverly cut in, looking at the gift in her hands.

Distracted, Tifa lifted the object. It appeared to be a pillow, but had a donut shape to it. McCallister had suggested weeks earlier that Tifa buy a body pillow, stating that it would make it easier to sleep during the third trimester when it was difficult to get comfortable. Tifa had caved soon after and bought a body pillow…It was the best sleep she'd had in weeks. But this…she wasn't sure what purpose this was supposed to serve.

"I'm…not sure." Tifa absently stuck her arm through the hole in the pillow.

"It's a sitting pillow." Aerith informed. "After you have Michelle-Maria-Mikayla, you sit on this pillow and it helps ease the discomfort you're going to have down there after delivery."

"Whoa." Yuffie leaned back, lifting her arms in front of her in an X shape. "Too much information."

Rinoa looked at Yuffie flatly. "We were literally talking about breastfeeding ten minutes ago and you're getting uncomfortable talking about THIS?"

"It's simple logic, Yuffie." Aerith pointed out, "The ladybits take a thrashing when you give birth. There's stretching and later sore muscles and—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Yuffie covered her ears, "Can we not talk about Tifa's ladybits?" She glanced at Jake, who was turning the pages of the baby book of firsts unaffectedly. "How are you not grossed out by this?"

Tifa waved a hand, "He's been de-sensitized. I've been using him as a sounding board for a lot of this stuff already lately."

"Ask me anything about a cervix, I dare you." Jake challenged them all, looking unaffected.

"OR." Aerith emphasized, "We can open more presents. Here, this one's from the Fairy Godmother…"

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **For those who have read any of my stories involving Leon and Tifa's daughter before, I slipped a few Easter eggs in that last one. There was also one for McCallister too, for those who have read my other collection, _What it Takes to Come Alive_. Actually, there was also a bit in there about Aerith that's been background noise in some of my other fics…

Damn, I got kinda sneaky in this chapter. Ah well. Hope you guys liked it anyway.

**Preview for next week:** _"I've barely nicked the tip of the iceberg with this undercurrent theory."_


	27. Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs. A few big nudges to the plot in this chapter. Some more references to Project Stasis and the Mercy Trilogy pop up in this chapter; these will be expounded on in the end notes. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**079 – Shelf Life**

While most of Radiant Garden's files and information had been converted to digital storage since the establishing of the Alliance nearly five years ago, there were still mountains of documents that, for whatever reason, had been kept as hard copies. Said documents had all been painstakingly labeled, boxed, sorted, and shelved in the somewhat-cavernous basement storage warehouse under Alliance Headquarters in the middle of town.

Generally, retrieving these original documents fell along the lines of birth certificates, historical photos, and the like. This was not going to be one of those kinds of retrievals. Cid knew that right off the bat, but it didn't help when the secretary who worked at the manager station wheeled out a four wheeled flat cart.

"There are quite a few boxes." The mousey woman said, verifying Cid's signature and retrieval request on the sign-in sheet.

Cid just grunted in response to that.

The woman, Polly, was basically the librarian of all the hard copy documents in the Alliance. She maintained them, ordered them, and kept track of which members of the Alliance had checked items out for research or whatever other reasons. Tifa had sent Cid down to retrieve all of the documented information about Case 4219-A. She hadn't specified what that case was or what she needed it for, and Cid hadn't asked because he typically didn't care. But the fact that Polly was fetching the large pushing cart got him interested. Tifa was reaching the point where she shouldn't be handling heavy loads. And, as Cid watched Polly piling box upon box upon box onto the cart, this was going to qualify as heavy.

"Strange." Polly chirped, finally plopping what looked like the ninth box on the cart. "Usually I get just a few retrieval requests a month, and those are mostly for reference points in recon reports." She chattered on, "This month, though, whew-ee! First someone pulls all the files on Ansem the Wise's research. Then someone pulls all the records for the three decades before the Heartless invasion in Radiant Garden. Now, you're wanting all THESE?"

Cid just grunted again. Engaging Polly in conversation was inadvisable unless you wanted to get your ear yacked off for about two hours. He took over the handles on the cart and aimed it toward the door, muttering a quick 'thanks' before leaving the underground warehouse. Curiosity struck as soon as he was in the elevator, and as the lift chugged upward to the Combat Department, Cid popped open the lid of the top-most box.

Newspaper clippings, a few compact discs, and a composition journal with Merlin's flowery-ass handwriting on the cover: these were just a few of the jumble of items in the first box. He frowned as he read Merlin's scrawl on the journal and replaced the lid. The elevator let off a happy _ding!_ He stepped off, pushing the cart ahead of him, and navigated through the halls of Tifa's Combat Department before reaching her office.

Tifa was sitting behind her desk, hands in her lap, staring at the office phone: looking like she hadn't moved since she'd called him to her office earlier. Her department was full of interns who could have gotten these boxes for her, but given the subject matter, Cid could understand why she hadn't. Though, asking Leon—her frickin' husband—would have been more discrete.

"Here we go." He announced his presence, shoving the cart into her office.

Tifa blinked and lifted her eyes from the phone, looking distant. "Oh, thanks." It came out weak, and she cleared her throat to try again, "Thank you, Cid."

He pursed his lips and straightened, folding his arms. "You want to explain why you just asked me to bring you every document filed under the Project Stasis investigation?" When Tifa just groaned and framed her face with her hands, he accentuated, "I thought we were done with that shit."

"WE are." She responded, sitting back in her seat, "Could you—" She gestured.

Cid reached behind him and shut the door to her office for more privacy.

"I got a phone call this afternoon." She confessed. "From Sora on Destiny Islands." He didn't say anything, letting her continue. "He's been having…He's starting to remember. Nothing too specific yet, but he told me the bits that he was beginning to remember, and, Cid, it's just the floodgates waiting to open."

He eyed the boxes before looking at her again. Ah, so there it was. There was no way that anyone on the Restoration Committee in their right mind would willingly go through all of the shit associated with that Project Stasis mess. They had all dealt with it and moved on, escaping relatively unscathed from the whole unpleasant situation. From what Cid understood, the whole experience had overwhelmed Sora and his mind had instinctively blocked all of the memories connected to Project Stasis. That wasn't hard to believe, considering the kid's past with memories and memory-tampering. But if Sora was starting to remember…

"I figure," Tifa was saying, "it would be better if he had some materials to make sense of these memories that he's recovering…rather than just being…y'know…left out in the cold: confused and with no one around to answer any of these questions."

Cid lifted an eyebrow, "So he called YOU?"

Sora and Tifa got along well enough, sure, but the woman wasn't exactly the first person that Cid would have guessed that Sora would call after something like this.

"Well, he called Leon's office first." Tifa looked at him sorely. "He was out of the building, so McCallister picked up the phone." Cid hissed at that but didn't interrupt. "She freaked out and transferred the call to me." She eyed the boxes. "Ugh."

Cid snorted. " 'Ugh' is right. You better get Leon or somebody to help you sort through all this mess. Don't wade back into this mess by yourself."

"Are you volunteering?" Tifa asked, jokingly—he hoped at least.

**..:-X-:..**

**080 – Sharing is Caring**

Aerith looked at Cloud, feeling confused and wary…and trying not to get excited. "Really? You're serious?"

Standing awkwardly in the doorway to her apartment, Cloud inclined his head. "Yes."

"You want to know everything." She reiterated. "Everything-everything? My research, my notes, the experiments that I've been running, the goods, the bads, the uglies, and the bizarre, and you aren't going to crap all over it?"

Cloud deadpanned, but his eyes remained sincere. "Yes."

Aerith shifted her weight from one foot to the other and stepped aside, opening the door farther. "Well, okay then. Come on in." As he followed her, she glanced back, "Why this sudden change? You haven't wanted anything to do with any of my undercurrent research since I started." She asked apprehensively.

"Exactly." He replied quietly. "We've hardly been talking or seeing each other…and I…don't…like that." He mumbled, unable to just spit it out.

She softened a little. "Yeah, I've missed you too."

Color touched his cheeks, and Aerith offered a small smile, leading him past the door to Rinoa's room and instead into her own room. Aerith was usually a very neat and organized person, but her schedule lately had been hectic. As a result, all of her research and clothes had wound up in a hodge-podge strewn about the room. The entire wall opposite her bed was almost covered in papers, clippings, and pictures that she had tacked up for easier viewing.

"I've actually learned A LOT since we last talked about it." She said, feeling the excitement bubbling up inside her. "I've barely nicked the tip of the iceberg with this undercurrent theory. It's not just that the Heart of Radiant Garden, of all worlds really, is alive, but it's…it's so much more than that."

She gestured to some of the pictures that she had taken: the flower fields that had sprung to being after her first experiments, the deep gouges in the Great Maw's floor at her more recent experiments, and the strong trees where she had attempted to connect more fully to the Heart. These were the fruits of her labors that she had refrained from showing most of the Restoration Committee. The way she saw it, this was a matter that she would keep close to the chest until she really had a grip on what she was dealing with. Cloud had been the first person that she wanted to gush all of her findings at, but he had been emotionally unavailable to give her that.

"I think the Heart is sentient." She said, rapturously.

Cloud's gaze, which had been roaming rigidly across the covered wall, slid to meet her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Aerith bounced on her feet. "I've been running these experiments for months, but I've always been trying to control it: draw it out and make it do certain things…like you use a shovel or a pencil or something…But if you think about it, the Keyblade has deep connections to the realm of Light, just like the Heart of a planet…and Keyblades choose their masters and may refuse to serve certain individuals…Sentient, see? So." She drew out the word, backpedaling to where she had all of the boxes full of Ansem the Wise's research stacked on the floor. "I think that the Heart of the world is alive and aware. It feels…It has moods and a personality." She looked to Cloud expectantly.

He looked intensely uncomfortable and he was failing at trying to hide it. "What kind of…personality? Like a human?"

"Just as complex, but not as direct." She answered. "I started trying to…request…control of the undercurrent from the Heart. I used to just try to force control over it, like demanding obedience…but obviously THAT wasn't working…So I have been attempting to connect with the undercurrent on a more cooperative level. Some days, it lets me, and I have even gotten to the point where I conjured water from an unknown well nearly three miles away!" She squeaked.

"And…other days?" Cloud asked with concern.

Aerith tilted her head, "Other days…It just wants to be left alone."

Cloud pursed his lips, looking reserved and clearly withholding something.

"What?" She asked.

"Where did you get that idea?" He asked, suspicious but not accusatory.

Aerith tensed and faltered. "That's…why I'm glad you finally decided to hear me out about all of this." She rubbed her arm. "There's been a…new development."

Cloud glanced briefly to the wall of papers, "Clearly."

"Cloud." She said, that bubble of excitement bursting with the cruel return of reality. "Don't get upset, but…" When he just silently looked at her, her shoulders drooped. "I got a letter from…Jinx Prison in Agrabah."

"HE's been giving you these ideas?" Cloud barked, immediately reeling himself back in however. "Aerith, he's—"

"I know what he is." Aerith lifted a hand, "I went to see him—"

"What?!"

"—which was a mistake, I know that now." She said firmly, "But I'm not an idiot. His letter…It makes sense, parts of it anyway—Except this one reference. I checked out all of Ansem's research, but never once does he mention what this guy calls the Sorcerer's War—"

Cloud looked at her so fast that she heard his neck pop. "What did you say?"

**..:-X-:..**

**081 – Dangerous Waters**

"Tada." Jake spread his arms, "This is the Marketplace, and there is the Accessories Shop."

Beside him, new arrival Mindy Tallman let out a breath of relief. "Oh, wow, now I feel silly." She chuckled lightly, "It was just right there in front of me."

Jake lifted his shoulders, "When in doubt, just roam around a little. Radiant Garden isn't really that big of a place."

The new girl in town had arrived with the latest Gummi of recruits for the Alliance. In Jake's experience, she didn't quite fit the image of a soldier. She was very girly and had clearly put a lot of time into her hair and make up that morning. Sure, none of the soldiers in the Alliance wore their uniforms all the time…except Tabaeus…but other soldiers' civilian clothes tended to be just pants and a comfortable shirt…never quite this 'dressy.'

"Well, you are my hero." She chirped, smiling widely at him. "Are you sure you aren't in the Alliance?"

Jake snorted. "Pretty sure. Ol' Strife wouldn't know how to train these bad boys." He flexed his arms in a manly pose.

Mindy Tallman giggled. "I don't know. He's a bit of a slave driver. Is that just a show to scare the newbies or is he really that hardcore?"

"Yes." Jake answered nimbly.

Mindy laughed and playfully smacked his arm, her curly blond hair bouncing as she shook her head. "You're funny, Jake. So, if you aren't a soldier, what are you doing in Radiant Garden?"

"Odd jobs, mostly," Jake explained, happy to be taken interest in. "But I work at the animal shelter during the week."

She crooned, "Ooh! Like puppies and cats?"

"And rabbits and snakes. We get the occasional turtle." He tutted.

Mindy laughed again lightly and linked her elbow through his flirtatiously. "Hey, I've got an idea. Since you're such a pro about the layout of Radiant Garden, could I possibly convince you to give me a grand tour? I'm geographically challenged."

Jake shifted, "Er," He hadn't quite anticipated that request.

Mindy withdrew and folded her arms together in a praying gesture, which also caused her arms to push her breasts together and puff her chest out. "Pleeeeeeeeease?"

Jake caught himself staring and blinked, lifting his eyes back to her face. This had 'bad idea' written all over it. Giving her a tour couldn't hurt, though, could it? It wasn't like he was taking her out on a date or anything; it was just a quick walk around to help her get acquainted with the town. Sure, her leaning toward him like that was weird, and her blouse was low cut enough to show off some fantastic cleavage. Did she realize that?

Tabaeus would have rolled her eyes at that question. Tabaeus never dressed like this. Tabaeus would never ask directions around town either. She was very much a 'figure out herself' person…Part of the character traits that made her such a good fit in Leon's department. Actually, now that Jake thought about it, Tabaeus never asked for help with anything. Either she didn't need it or she would expend every possible resource to do something herself before asking for help…and said help was never asked of him. It was…kind of nice to be asked, to feel needed.

"I…guess I could." He caved.

Mindy clapped her hands and bounced on her heels once…and the rest of her bounced as well. "Yay!"

He smiled at her enthusiasm and turned around, "Let's start from here and we can work our way back to the headquarter building."

Mid-turn, he spotted Leon across the Marketplace, in conversation with Scrooge McDuck, but his eyes were locked on Jake. The Hell? Jake tilted his head. The guy looked like he was trying to burn a hole through Jake's head with his eyes.

"Oh, first, let me get those accessories." Mindy quipped, sauntering over to make her purchases.

Jake glanced at her and nodded, "Okay."

When he turned back around, Leon was standing directly in front of him.

"Bah!" Jake staggered back a step. "Holy crap, dude. How did you get over here so fast?"

Leon continued to glare silently for a moment, looking over Jake's shoulder to where Mindy Tallman was chatting exuberantly with the owners of the shop. He looked back to Jake and raised one threatening finger. "Don't." His voice was low, even, and icy.

Jake sweatdropped, "Don't…what?"

"Don't even think about it." Leon finished.

Jake looked from Leon, back to Mindy, and to Leon again with a snort, "It's a tour. I'm not…I'm with Tabaeus…I would never…This isn't…It's just a tour."

"Watch yourself." Leon stared at him hard for an uncomfortable period of time. "Because if you hurt McCallister, I will end you. Are we clear?"

Jake blinked up at the taller man. "Yes, sir." He stammered.

Then, just as quickly as he approached, Leon made his exit.

This was going to be a very quick and brief tour.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **The contents of the letter that Aerith received will be more or less revealed in the next few chapters. The mention of the Sorcerer's War will come full circle over the rest of this story, as it ties directly into my finale series that is set after this story.

The first part of this chapter, and some of the second, again references my Mercy Trilogy and Project Stasis. If you haven't read those three stories, I would recommend that you do. Those stories directly tie into the end-game of this story. Also, because _T Minus One Year_ is the lead-in to my finale story _Sentient Midnight_, elements of the Mercy Trilogy do factor into that as well. So, if you intend to follow this saga through the finale, I would really advise reading those three Mercy Trilogy stories. If you're just along for the ride of _T Minus One Year_ and nothing more, then feel free to not read too deeply into the references.

I am going to publish a short two or three chapter story that spawns directly from the 'Sora is starting to remember' bit in the first part of this chapter. It will be a quick and dirty explanation of the Mercy Trilogy for those who don't want or don't have time to read the trilogy. It will also serve as a set up for some elements of _Sentient Midnight_.

Thanks for reading!

**Preview for next week:** _"You opened a door, and your cat attacked me."_


	28. Grudges and Nervous Habits

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs. This is a lighthearted chapter. I threw some snark and fluff in there for funnsies. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**082 – Let Me Love You**

Alone in the apartment, Rinoa inched out of her bedroom, leaning her head around the corner to scope out the living room. For the past twenty minutes, the quiet of the apartment had been constantly interrupted by the clicking claws of Aerith's grey cat Piper moving around. The noise was making her paranoid.

She edged out of her bedroom, unsure where the furry beast was lurking, and made her way sneakily into the living room. She paused when a low 'mmmmmmmmmrowwwwwww' growled out from under the couch. Rinoa froze, trying to lock onto where Piper was hiding. Chewing on the side of her lip, she started inching forward again.

"Hey, kitty." She cooed softly. "Please don't kill me. I just want to be your friend."

The low, throaty growl sounded again, and Rinoa huffed, moving closer to the couch. The cat's grey head popped out from between the couch cushions and its feline eyes glared into Rinoa's soul.

"Why do you hate me?" Rinoa whispered.

The cat situated himself on the seat of the couch, tail swishing back and forth. Narrowed eyes stayed on Rinoa, but Piper stopped growling. Rinoa took that as a positive and dared to push her luck, apprehensively reaching out a hand. Piper's ears flattened, but he didn't growl. Riona exhaled slowly, closing the distance and gently petting the cat's head.

"Whoooooo…See, there. I don't bite." Rinoa said softly. "I just want to show you a little affection. Is this so bad?"

Ever since Aerith had adopted this cat, Piper had proven to be nothing other than a devilspawn with fur…and the unnerving ability to hide and leap out at you without warning. So far, the cat had hissed and growled at Rinoa, Aerith, Leon, Cid, Tifa, McCallister, Eddy, Yuffie, Merlin, and Jake. Cloud was the only one that Piper didn't show any aggression toward.

It was a rude awakening after being around Leon's pet for so long. The difference was that the only danger that Leon's golden retriever Duke posed was that she might love you to death. Piper…might actually try to kill—

The front door of the apartment opened and Aerith swooped in with an exhausted sigh.

The suddenness of her entrance made Piper twitch, and Rinoa yelped, withdrawing her hand. THAT sudden movement was interpreted as a threat by the cat, who hissed, sprung to all fours, and launched himself at Rinoa.

"Bah!" Rinoa shrieked, as Piper landed square on her chest.

She backed up hastily, and the coffee table behind her caught her knees. She squawked, still clawing at the beast that was attacking her, and toppled over, crashing to the floor.

Aerith gasped. "Rinoa, are you okay?!"

"He's shredding my boobs!" Rinoa screamed, trying to pull the cat off of her. "I'm being assaulted! Booby trap!"

Aerith darted to her side, "Piper, no! Bad!"

"He's a demon cat; he doesn't heed you, human!" Rinoa screamed as the cat's claws continued to dig into her chest.

She finally got her hands around the creature's middle and tore him away from her. With a loud cry, she rolled onto her side, flinging the cat across the room. She reversed her roll and wound up back on her feet, hands flying to her scratched up chest. Piper's claws had wrought havoc over the bare skin from her collarbone to the low cut of her tank top.

Piper landed on his feet and shot into Aerith's room. Aerith hurried over and closed the door, sealing the cat inside. She immediately turned back to Rinoa, eyes wide and looking horrified.

"Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

Rinoa looked down at herself. There were red lines cross hatching her skin, stinging and angry. She waved her hands lightly, refraining from touching the cuts. Tears of pain were hitting her eyes against her will, and she looked incredulously to Aerith.

"Am I OKAY? Your cat just used my cleavage as a scratching post!" She barked, stomping into her adjoining bathroom to inspect the damage with a mirror.

Aerith followed. "I'm getting him de-clawed this weekend." She nibbled her lip. "Maybe he just got startled."

"Last week, Jake jumped out of a closet and pounced on Duke. THAT was startling. And Duke licked his face." Rinoa snapped, "You opened a door and your cat attacked me."

Rinoa took out her first aid kit and started cleaning the deeper scratches. She glanced up into the mirror again and caught sight of Aerith's pitiful and remorseful expression in the reflection over her shoulder. Rinoa sighed and closed her eyes briefly, turning back around.

"I'll…" Aerith said, deflated. "I could take him to the animal shelter tomorrow…or have Cloud watch him until I can find a new owner for him."

Rinoa grimaced. Even though Piper was a demonic little hell cat, Aerith had somehow grown an attachment to Piper. The flowergirl had been through a lot lately; Rinoa couldn't bring herself to put an end to one of the few things that had helped Aerith de-stress.

"No." She moaned out. "You don't have to do that."

Aerith looked up hopefully. "Really? You're sure?"

"Yeah." Rinoa pointed threateningly at her. "But you get that beast de-clawed."

**..:-X-:..**

**083 – What Boredom Leads To**

"Tom Laurel."

"Medical."

"Emily Hahn."

"Aeronautics."

"Lillian Gold."

"Weapons."

Cloud looked up from the files spread across the table. "Really?" He asked flatly.

For the past three hours, he had been locked in the large meeting room in the Alliance headquarter building. His own office was too small for the duty at hand: which was to sort through all of the applications and resumes by the new soldiers in his basic training program and try to narrow down which soldiers were going to be filtered into which specialized departments. Given that the latest group numbered in the upper 300s, he had enlisted Tabaeus McCallister to help him wade through the paperwork.

"Yes." The private didn't look up from the file on the table in front of her. The entire surface of the table was covered in the papers. "She dismantled and re-assembled an M15 assault rifle faster than any other in that exercise."

Cloud pursed his lips and went with it. "Okay. Paul Hill."

"Aeronautics."

These were all just suggestions, of course. Aerith and Cid and Leon and the others had to approve any newbies into their departments. Given that Cloud had been putting them all through the loops, he was supposed to have a good grip on where their individual specialties might lie…but dammit, there were almost 400 of them.

Hence, McCallister.

"Kyle Blake."

"Magic."

"Mindy Tallman."

"Hell."

Cloud looked up again, twiddling a pencil between his fingers. "Not sure we have jurisdiction there."

The soldier was already looking at another file, but her neck was turning red in anger. "What about Boris Helm?"

"Yuffie called dibs on him." Cloud said absently, lifting an eyebrow at her. "I'm sensing hostility."

"I'm a hostile person." Was the flat response.

"What's your beef with Tallman?"

"She's a smart and capable soldier. I just hope she falls into a volcano."

"Leon said you nearly split a skull when she showed up." Cloud pressed.

It wasn't often that one got to see Leon's right hand soldier lose her cool. He was curious to see what would happen…and he was bored…Three hours was a long time to look at messy handwriting on repetitive applications. He absently pondered if McCallister would hulk out into a giant green rage beast if she got angry enough.

"So what is she? Former classmate? Neighbor? Ex-friend? Did she steal your prom date or something?" He teased.

"How's that whole 'time travel' thing working out for you?" Private McCallister raised her eyes from her files just long enough to shoot him a dry glare.

Cloud stared back at her for a long moment. She was baiting him. He wouldn't fall for it. Leon had mocked him so much over the past few weeks about the 'Agent Mike' event that McCallister was just throwing pebbles at this point. "Was she the popular girl where you come from? Did she embarrass you in some way?"

"Sir, can we please not?" She said, thumbing through another file. "Roberta Manns."

"Merlin's." Cloud made a note. "Did you even go to prom?"

"No." She said dismissively.

"Why? Did no one ask you?" He teased.

She scribbled on another file. "As a matter of fact, no, they didn't. Hostile, remember?"

He snorted, "Yeah, I can't even imagine you in a dress."

"The sad thing is that I have seen pictures of YOU in one." She glared. "Purple isn't your color, sir."

Cloud smirked but had mercy on her. "Do you believe in time travel?"

"If I did, I would go back in time to stop myself from agreeing to help you with this." She grumbled.

"You're starting to talk like Leon, y'know."

"Thank you, sir."

"Not a compliment."

"Whatever…Send Tallman to Aeronautics. I don't care."

**..:-X-:..**

**084 – Sleepless in Radiant Garden**

Sleep. All that Tifa wanted was sleep. She was exhausted in body and mind and should have fallen asleep easily. But between her thoughts being glued to the whole situation of Sora remembering Project Stasis and the baby kicking her for hours on end and her inability to get into a comfortable sleeping position—even with the body pillow and the maximum safe dosage of heartburn medication—she was no closer to falling asleep than she had been two hours ago. This was just getting ridiculous.

After glaring at the flashing red numbers on her bedside clock, Tifa groaned and released the pillow, rolling slowly onto her back and letting her hand wander to Leon's side of the bed. When her fingers only met cold sheets, she glanced over and found herself alone.

Huh, well, she must have dozed off at some point, if Leon had manage to slither out of bed without her noticing…Not to mention that Leon could be extremely stealthy in many situations, but getting out of bed in the middle of the night was not one of those situations. The man was the most inelegant midnight snacker that she had ever encountered.

Come to think of it, she could see light under their closed bedroom door. So she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep tonight. Resigning herself to that fact, Tifa climbed out of bed. The act was becoming more and more difficult with her swelling stomach. Being just a few weeks shy of nine months pregnant was not comfortable…AT ALL.

Tifa opened the bedroom door and traced the dim light from downstairs to the kitchen. As she made her way downstairs, she could smell something like warm baking. Apprehensive now, she stepped off the bottom stair and maneuvered into the kitchen. And there stood her husband, putting the finishing touches on what looked like an apple pie. Duke was sitting at attention like an alert soldier beside him, ears raised and tail still, just waiting for him to drop something.

"What…are you doing?" Tifa greeted through a yawn.

Leon glanced over, looking unsurprised to see her—was she really that noisy coming down the stairs now? "Did I wake you up?"

"No, your daughter never let me fall asleep." Tifa leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. "Pie, huh?"

"Pie." He nodded, pouring flour into a mixing bowl.

Tifa sighed, "Well, the world only knows that you're sexy as all get out when you're cooking, but…at two in the morning? I've got a baby using my ribs as a punching bag, what's your excuse?"

He huffed, slapping his hands together to rid them of flour. There was a small puff of white smoke, and Duke sprang to her feet, looking curiously at the flour cloud. "Knee."

Tifa nodded knowingly, dropping her eyes to his knee, though she couldn't see the problematic joint through his pant leg. "And…apple pie will fix it right up?"

"I already tried icing it, heating it, wrapping it, stretching it." He grumbled. "I did the physical therapy exercises. It just…" He flexed the leg slowly, "…is being stupid."

Tifa chewed the side of her lip for a beat. "You know the doctor said that your knee would probably…be stupid…for the rest of your life. You messed it up pretty good." At his sour look, she straightened, "Hey, you've been back on active duty for months now. You hardly ever limp anymore. You even beat Yuffie at a race last week."

"We both just happened to be jogging in the same direction." He excused.

"And your smug look after you reached Merlin's house first had nothing to do with that?" She lifted an eyebrow, "It was a race."

He looked at her flatly and resumed his baking. "Has Sora called back?"

Tifa leaned her elbows forward on the counter top, watching him roll dough. "No. I sent him a copy of everything we have. Told him my door was open if he needed anything. But Riku remembers all that, so he should be—"

"But he wasn't there." Leon pointed out. "It's different."

There was a rumble of low thunder overhead.

Tifa lifted her shoulders, "And it's not like Kairi can help." She stretched her arms over her head and inhaled deeply, exhaling after a beat as she lowered her arms.

Leon eyed her figure. "You okay?"

"Ask me in about a month and a half." She said, running a hand through her hair.

"You get sassy when you're tired." He observed.

"And you randomly bake comfort desserts." She smirked. "Not a bad match."

"Ah, I see." He muttered, sliding a new pie into the oven and stretching his knee again. "You just married me for my cooking skills."

Rain started to tap on the roof, pattering against the window glass.

"Now, don't sell yourself short." She pointed out. "You have a cute butt too."

He snorted. "At any rate, I hope you like permanent limps, because I doubt it's going anywhere."

"Better or worse, richer or poorer." She bobbed her head. "Hey, you know how some old people can sense when it's going to rain because of their joints?" She pointed.

Looking toward the rainy window, Leon scoffed, "You…That's…shut up."

She snorted. "Hey, cut me a piece of pie. Might as well while it's still hot."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"Though all of Radiant Garden would like to think him dead, I can promise that you will find him Nowhere."_


	29. The Letter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs sprinkled throughout. More built-in references for _Sentient Midnight_ and the Mercy Trilogy are in this chapter. Some language due to one of Cid's soldiers. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**085 – Rewritten History**

After all this time and after so much, it all was going to boil down to this.

Merlin sighed, withdrawing his wand from the pocket of his robes. The stacks of boxes that he had retrieved from the storage warehouse under Allied Headquarters stood in the middle of his private study. Looking at them was like looking at a cardboard, anachronistic mountain: displaced by time and memory and rewritten history.

Radiant Garden's history. The past 30 years of it, to be exact.

That was the beauty of magic, he supposed: it always provided new slates and allowed one to clean up all the mess…and put that mess in a stack of cardboard boxes, to be carted down to the dustiest part of the storage warehouse and left to rot there. He had only managed to transport the boxes without arousing suspicion because Tifa and Leon had been sifting through Project Stasis investigation materials and everyone else on the Restoration Committee had been off-world on missions. He was relieved that he hadn't bumped into any of them.

This would be a tricky one to explain.

The elderly sorcerer wasn't prone to lying. It was distasteful and disrespectful. But…somehow…this secret had felt different. It was a lie, he couldn't refute that, but it was a lie by omission. Radiant Garden's history was built on a foundation of misrepresentation and blissful, blissful ignorance. That was how the old world had wanted it.

All of them. Good people. The BEST people that perhaps he had ever known. They had given up so much and received so little recognition for it. Their secrets had been their own to bear, and they had taken everything to their graves.

There were a lot of graves.

Now Merlin was the last one. He was all that left of the old world. He was the only one who could remember how it all had gone down. Of course, Aerith and Leon and the others had been teenagers when the Heartless invaded. They would all remember that. But they had been too young…far, far too young…to remember the events preceding the invasion. Those wheels had been set into motion almost two decades before the invasion.

The doors. Those confounded doors. The war. The sorcerers and the rebels that had endangered their entire way of life. The authorities who refused to open their eyes. Radiant Garden had been broken long before the Heartless arrived. It had been splintered, and the divide in their society that had been created by the Sorcerer's War had still been keenly felt for years afterward. All of it…buried under secrets and a memory blocking spell so powerful that it had lasted nearly 30 years. It was properly terrifying, that after all that their little group had gone through and seen, that there were so many 'why's and 'how's of their childhood that they had never bothered to address.

It was a wound best left unprodded.

But one of the unceasing epiphanies that came with age was that one's pool of people with similar experience was drying up. Merlin had developed a well of memories in his years. Many wonderful, some not so bright. The fact of the matter was that there was no one else to carry the burden of Radiant Garden's true history anymore. The nightmare of it all could finally be put to rest. Only his memory and these few scant boxes could betray the beautiful illusion of the history books. The members of the Restoration Committee had seen enough ugly. They had endured enough trauma. Part of Merlin despised the idea of ripping away the anchor that they had clung to through those dark days. He had resigned himself to refusing to do it.

Now there was this talk of a time traveler.

It would have been easy to laugh off Cloud's disjointed tale. His story had sounded preposterous both in plot and in execution. Not a lot of things truly got under the young man's skin, but clearly this had. So Merlin couldn't ignore it.

The mysterious woman wasn't the same time traveler who had appeared near the end of the Sorcerer's War. He knew that to be an absolute fact. This only made the situation more uneasy, because that implied that there were more people out there capable of travelling through time.

The traveler from the Sorcerer's War was long gone, and the one that Cloud had encountered seemed to have no real interest in 'when' she had landed; she had been more preoccupied with some other mission. It was unnerving, but it didn't sound dangerous.

Merlin whisked his wand and one of the boxes opened. A bound notebook with a lock levitated from inside, hovering over the box for a moment before bouncing through the air toward him. He caught it with the hand that wasn't holding the wand, and he deftly unlocked the journal, flipping through the pages absently.

His own tiny handwriting, identical from 30 years ago to the words that he had written today, covered the pages. Paragraphs, side notes, hasty sketches and drawings, measurements, incantations: he recognized this particular notebook's purpose immediately.

The implementation of the Rising Falls.

For all of the exploration of the old castle ruins and the scouring of every inch of the surrounding area, Merlin thought it was a miracle that no one on the Restoration Committee had…stumbled onto something amiss. The spell maintaining the Rising Falls had deteriorated not long after their group had moved back to 'Hollow Bastion,' and they had begun clearing out the Heartless in order to begin the restoration process.

The old inverted waterfall had done its job after all those years, guarding and protecting the darkest secret of Radiant Garden, just like the old wizard had.

The Sorcerer's War had never ended, and he feared the day those walls crumbled.

**..:-X-:..**

**086 – Love on the Battlefield**

Yuffie fired off three shots from her gun before ducking back behind the mound of debris, breathing hard through her nose. She could hear the artillery going off behind enemy lines, barraging her makeshift fort…if there were any enemy lines left. The battle had hardly begun, and already each side had broken their respective formations. It had become a bloodbath; she had no idea how many people in her party were even still fighting.

She cast a sideways glance down the line. Her temporary shelter ended after five feet, leaving a swath of nearly twenty exposed feet until the next debris shield. She could see two of her squad members hunkering down behind, looking right back at her: Private Cooper from Leon's department and Major Valerie Banks from Cid's department. No sign of Trevor.

Which meant…

"Cease fire!" An enemy's voice called out.

Yuffie got back up on her knees, peering as far around her shelter as she could safely manage. She didn't know how many of the enemy's unit was still in the battle, but she was running low on ammo. They needed to end this, quickly.

"You've fought gallantly, Kisaragi." The enemy sneered. "But your ragtag group of misfits is just no match for us. Surrender and you'll be spared the humiliation."

"Eat dirt, Wallace!" Yuffie shot back. "If my team and I go down, we go down with HONOR! Something you know nothing of."

There was a resigned silence.

"So be it." He hissed. "Men…attack!"

The pepper of artillery against her fort resumed, and Yuffie exchanged a look with Cooper and Banks across the field. She gritted her teeth. She wouldn't let it end this way.

"Charge!" She screamed, springing up from her position.

Banks and Cooper followed suit, raising their guns, aiming quickly, and firing. Yuffie lifted her gun and fired off a few rounds, trying to reserve her ammo. One of her remaining shots had Wallace's name on it.

Major Banks darted forward, both of her handguns raised and unleashing Cain. "Eat lead, fuckers!" She barked, dropping the enemy's men like flies.

A louder gun report than normal sounded, and the impact of the slug slammed into Banks's shoulder, almost spinning her in a complete circle. Her eyes widened and she looked to Yuffie. "…Snipers…" She gasped as she hit her knees.

"No!" Cooper spun and aimed for the high ground where Wallace's snipers were hiding.

Yuffie felt a wave of panic and darted across the empty field, landing in a roll behind Cooper and squeezing off two more shots, taking down two more of Wallace's troops. A body hit the ground beside her and she spun on her knees, leveling her gun.

Trevor lifted his hands, handguns around both thumbs. "Don't shoot."

She gasped, "You're still in?" She beamed. "I thought you were—"

"Greatly exaggerated." He winked, "Wallace only has one sniper and two more soldiers left. We're down to just us three. What do you think of those odds?"

Cooper slumped down on Yuffie's other side, his knee stained from a hit. "I got the sniper and another of his soldiers…It's just Wallace and the other guy now." He handed Yuffie his loaded gun. "Sorry, ma'am. I'm out of this one."

Yuffie took the gun and grasped his shoulder. "You fought the good fight, soldier." She glanced to Trevor. "If we make it out of this alive…"

"When." He corrected her, snapping a fresh clip into his gun. "Let's do this."

As one, they both sprang up from behind the shelter, aimed at the two remaining men, and fired. The ammo peppered the two enemies in a small explosion, sending one man dramatically to his knees before he slumped to his side and remained there. The other felled man, Wallace, just slumped his shoulders, dropping his gun.

"BOOM!" Yuffie threw her hands in the air. "Suck it, losers!"

Wallace looked down at the multi-colored blasts of paint across his uniform, scowling as he took his helmet off. Beside him on the ground, his comrade, got up to his knees, rubbing his chest where the paintballs had actually dealt some pain.

"Victory is ours!" Trevor shot his remaining paintballs into the sky.

On either side of them, their fallen comrades and Wallace's teammates all got up, splattered in various colors of paint, and shuffled to their respective sides: winners and losers. Banks was cussing up a triumphant storm, and the sniper—Hank from Leon's department, of course—joined in with Cooper despite their paintball enemy status.

Yuffie and Trevor high-fived and then Yuffie tossed her guns down, jumping on him and throwing her arms around his neck. Trevor caught her and started to say something, but Yuffie shut him up by covering his mouth with her own. The kiss was sloppy and it had been a half-assed decision on her part in the heat of the moment, but he started to kiss her back, so she doubted that it bothered him. When the kiss ended, her face felt flushed.

"So," She abruptly said, "I guess we're the new black panthars of paintball."

Trevor snorted, "I doubt your buddy Alms will appreciate us taking his title though."

Yuffie waved an absent hand, "Eh, I doubt he'll notice."

Across town, Jake got a chill up his spine and narrowed his eyes. "Kisaragi…"

**..:-X-:..**

**087 – Aerith's Letter**

_Dearest Cetra,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health, a fair hope considering your endeavors into the study of hearts._

_Until recently, I believed all of your kind had faded into the realm of myths, so imagine how delighted I was to discover that one pure blooded Cetra was left. You should count yourself lucky; I've known many a Cetra who didn't survive your world's precious war decades ago. But that is neither here nor there and as such is not the topic of this writing._

_As you know, I have an affinity for the study of hearts and I have garnered quite the reputation in the field, however unsavory I'm sure that reputation is. Fear not, I have no intention of either regaining your trust or forgiveness. Such things are trivial to a man of science such as myself. Rather, I would like to offer a suggestion._

_You will never coax water from a rock by poking at trees, dear. Spawning flower fields and digging wells are all well and good acts, but I sense that your eyes are on a bigger prize. If you truly wish to uncover the long buried secrets of the heart of Radiant Garden, you will need to consult with an expert in such matters. _

_A world's heart, like a human one, is subject to will, personality, moods, and emotions. To categorize it as an inanimate object simply because a planet does not have a face is to embrace ignorance. If it is knowledge and progress that you seek, I would recommend a man who has, quite literally, written the book on world hearts. He is an outcast from your so-thought utopian society, exiled by the very people whom he has protected all this time._

_I would almost presume that he could be family to you, not by blood, but by marriage, should the future come to it. Though all of Radiant Garden would like to think him dead, I can promise that you will find him Nowhere._

_He is alive._

Cloud reached the end of the letter and stared at the signature at the bottom. The door was closed, and Aerith was the only other person in her bedroom with him. He could feel her eyes on him, waiting for his reaction, but he wasn't sure what she was expecting from him.

This letter immediately sent a hundred questions to the forefront of his mind, none of which either he or Aerith could answer. This…this man who had initiated Project Stasis and made their lives a living hell for weeks…had out of seemingly nowhere reached out to communicate with Aerith.

Why? Why her? Why now? What was the point? What did he care about the heart of Radiant Garden? Who was this expert that he was referring to? How did he know about Aerith's Cetra heritage? What was the 'war' that he mentioned? Aerith had no living relatives, how could she be related to this expert? 'Not by blood, but by marriage, should the future come to it': what did THAT mean? Who was alive?

"I don't like it." He said quietly, tonelessly. "I don't trust him."

"Neither do I." Aerith replied slowly. "When I talked with him at Jinx, he confessed to doing this only to stir up drama and conflict."

"What drama? What conflict, though?" Cloud looked over at her. "We've moved on. Project Stasis…That mess is behind us. Leon, Tifa, they've moved on. What is the point of this?" He held up the letter. "To taunt us from a prison cell?"

Aerith frowned, "I tried to research the 'war' reference, but all of the historical materials on Radiant Garden's military sector had been removed from the warehouse."

Cloud lifted an eyebrow, "And that doesn't seem suspicious to you?"

"One issue at a time." Aerith stood from her seat. "We have to find out who this expert is. This…exile who wrote the book on world hearts."

" 'We'?" Cloud repeated. "I agreed to be open about this research, but I'm not touching it. It's all yours, remember?"

Aerith looked flustered, "Clearly it involves you…I could be related to this person through marriage…I don't see any other male suitors lining up for my hand here."

She said it absently, but immediately pursed her lips afterward. Cloud glanced at her briefly before dropping his gaze back to the letter. Now wasn't the time to open THAT particular box.

"It's going to be difficult to find a guy who is nowhere." He pointed.

"My question," Aerith recovered herself as well. "is why is 'Nowhere' capitalized?"

Cloud looked at the sentence again and frowned, "Because…it's important?"

"Radiant Garden would wish to think him dead," Aerith mused aloud, "But he is Nowhere…What if it's a place?" She turned slowly to face him.

"A place called Nowhere?" Cloud narrowed one eye.

Aerith's eyes widened dramatically with an epiphany, and Cloud stood in concern that she might topple over.

"Humans have hearts…Worlds have hearts." She looked at him. "Nobodies are created when a human loses a heart…What do you think is created when a world loses a heart?"

Was she suggesting…

"Cloud," She exhaled, "Radiant Garden lost its heart once."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"It's ALIVE!"_


	30. Paradox Part Three

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**088 – Career Paths**

Beverly held her tongue as long as she could, but after watching Rinoa mentally curse out the laptop in front of her, she had to say something. "Why are you doing this?"

Rinoa didn't look up from the laptop, where she was sitting at the kitchen table of Merlin's house, across the room from where Beverly was thumbing through the newspaper. "Because it's fun." She hissed sarcastically, before saying, "This software is stupid."

"You have been toiling around in the IT Department for months, and you haven't learned anything." Beverly pointed out flatly, "You obviously hate it. Why are you still working there?"

"What else am I going to do?" Rinoa still didn't look up, pecking at the keyboard aggressively. "What? Not compatible?! You motherless son of a—"

Beverly snorted, leaning back in her seat. "Have you looked around? There's always a thousand things that need doing here in Radiant Garden."

"Yeah…but it's specialized stuff…like…building houses and doing research. Civilian stuff." She mumbled.

Beverly lifted an eyebrow, "What's wrong with civilian stuff? This is a military world, Rinoa, but there's still almost 30 percent of the population that is civilian."

Rinoa finally looked up. "Well, I'm not."

The unexpected anger in Rinoa's eyes made her swallow whatever comment she'd been about to retort with. The younger woman looked frustrated and sad.

"I…" Rinoa deflated slightly, pushing the computer away from herself and folding her arms against her chest. "Ever since I got back to Radiant Garden, I've been useless." She frowned, "Everybody here has a purpose…They run entire departments, fight Heartless, run missions. These people that I went to school with, hung out with, was friends with…I came back and they were all strong and grown up and responsible. Look at me." She lifted her shoulders defensively. "All I did was stay alive for 12 years."

"Against Heartless and Nobodies and inter-galactic war." Beverly pointed out, "I'd hardly say that's nothing."

"Yeah, well…so did Tifa and look at her now." Rinoa said sourly. "She runs the Combat Department, has a slew of interns under her command, is a pillar of the community, AND is starting a family. And I can't even install a lousy program!" She glared at the laptop.

Beverly frowned, "I survived for 12 years and all I have to show for it is a bar." When Rinoa looked at her meekly, Beverly narrowed her eyes, "You gotta stop comparing yourself to the others on the Restoration Committee."

"How can I not?" Rinoa said quietly. "I'm the appendix of Radiant Garden: unnecessary and only prone to screwing things up."

"Self pity is an ugly color on you." Beverly remarked. "Look," She sat up, pushing her hair away from her forehead. "Tifa, Aerith, Cid…they're good at what they do. Just because you're not good at what THEY do, doesn't make you worth less than them. C'mon, what is it YOU are good at it…or at least what you enjoy doing?"

Rinoa looked uncertain, "I…I don't know. I'm not good at anything, except—"

"Except…?"

"I'm…I mean I guess…bread." When Beverly gestured for her to continue, Rinoa cupped her hands under her knees. "Okay, I wound up stranded on this one world during my travels…This ritzy place that had all these restaurants and fine dining spots. It was harsh competition there, but I was short on munny and this guy named Linguini gave me a tip to this bread shop. The woman who ran the bakery offered me a job. Just a cashier, selling pastries and bagels and stuff…but I…sort of…toyed with the oven a few times."

"It's always good to experiment when you're young." Beverly winked.

Rinoa inhaled and continued. "Found out I had a bit of a knack for baking. Nothing fancy, just bread and bagels and things like that. I don't know…it's stupid…"

"How so?"

"Pfft." Rinoa looked at her, "Leon and Tabaeus are saving lives and fighting darkness."

"They can't do that on an empty stomach." Beverly touched her chin. "I like to think the happy hour at my tavern has helped ease the bitter aftertaste of some of their missions. We all serve a purpose, Rinoa. You don't have to be a gun-toting, hard-nosed soldier to be a bad ass."

Rinoa chewed the side of her lip. "You don't think it'd be lame?"

"Nope." Beverly shook her head, "But, honey, you gotta get out of IT. You're like a laptop terrorist in there."

Rinoa snorted and looked at the computer again. She sat up. "Oh, wait, I think it finally…" She clicked on something and then threw her arms up. "It's ALIVE!"

The fan on the computer suddenly kicked off and the screen went black.

"Mother fudge!" Rinoa smacked the screen down on the laptop and shoved it away.

Beverly snickered at her, paused, and then stood. "Just think about it, okay? There's no point in trying to learn something you aren't good at, to keep a job you hate, to impress people who have no say in the matter. So buck up, Bagel Babe."

Rinoa smirked and stood, "Thanks, Beverly…I think I need a drink."

The older woman beamed, "And THAT is my specialty."

**..:-X-:..**

**089 – Holiday Shopping**

"So I think we can rule out shoes, purses, and jewelry." Yuffie remarked, sauntering through the shopping district aimlessly. "What's her favorite color?"

Jake was sullen behind her.

"Jake Alms, I know you are not giving me the cold shoulder." She said airily. "My team took the championship title fair and square. Be hacked off all you like, but take it like a man."

"No cold shoulder." Jake said, hands deep in his pockets as he walked alongside her. "My shoulder is toasty warm…like you could cook eggs on this baby." He smacked his shoulder. "I will admit defeat when you admit that if I had convinced Tabaeus to join my paintball team, you would have gotten slaughtered."

"Your logic?" She pressed. "And don't pull that 'because she's Leon's intern' crap, because Wallace had a few of Leon's recruits on his team and we cleaned house."

"Fine. Because...she's Leon's TOP intern." He said pompously.

She snorted and glanced around the shop where they'd popped in. "All right fine, whatever. Any of this in here screaming McCallister at you?"

Jake turned in a small circle. "Man, I suck at buying presents for people…And she's giving me absolutely nothing to go on."

"Well, Tifa certainly gave no hints that she wanted a year's supply of baby diapers for her baby shower, and yet you delivered."

"It's a fact of life, Yuffie: everybody poops. Babies poop A LOT. She and Leon will be thanking me for that one." Jake pointed out.

Yuffie shook her head, "Anyway, how about a gun maintenance kit? Can't say she wouldn't use it."

"Maybe I could get her a pet." Jake wasn't paying attention.

Yuffie spotted a box of cigars in a fancy metal box. The smell of cigars reminded her of Trevor, though she'd never actually seen him smoke. She picked it up, inspecting it. "The woman is working around the clock; you think she has time for a pet?"

Jake shrugged, "It just seems like everybody's got one now. Leon's had Duke for years. Aerith and Rinoa adopted that cat…"

"That's not a cat. It's a demon." Yuffie corrected. "Seriously, just go with the gun kit. Or a coffee maker. Or an external hard drive for her computer. Practical stuff is a safe way to go."

"Would you REALLY want to get a coffee maker for Christmas?" Jake leered.

"No, but I'm not Tabaeus McCallister. She's a weirdo like that." Yuffie decided to carry the cigar box with her. "Or you could pull something sneaky and get Mindy Tallman transferred to a galaxy far, far away."

"Eh?" Jake quirked an eyebrow at her.

Yuffie went to the check out to buy the cigar box. "McCallister HATES that woman."

"She does? Why?"

"I don't know; I didn't ask."

"You? Miss Sneaky Ninja Know-it-all didn't ask?" Jake looked amused.

Yuffie paid for the gift and took the bag it was in. "Part of being sneaky is knowing which buttons to push and which not to push. For instance, one button you CAN push is Cloud's stupid hairstyle. One button you CANNOT push is arguing about Kirk versus Picard with Leon."

"And Mindy is a no-no button?"

"BIG no-no button." Yuffie said, looking at him. "Why the first name?"

"I…might have…already talked to her some…Given her a tour…"

Yuffie groaned. "Does McCallister know?"

"I don't know. I mean, I didn't tell her but I'm not trying to hide it from her. Leon saw me and warned me a bit…" Jake lifted his shoulders, "I didn't know Tabs had beef with her."

"And it's invisible beef." Yuffie indicated. "The only person that I think could safely ask about that beef is Leon…maybe Tifa…"

"I'm her boyfriend, shouldn't I be able to ask—"

"Have you MET Tabaeus?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow, picking up a gun maintenance kit from a nearby shelf. "I'm not saying you shouldn't ask, I'm just saying that you shouldn't ask."

"That doesn't even make sense—"

"I know!" Yuffie huffed, shoving the kit at him. "But it's Christmas. Your first Christmas together…and possibly your last if you harp on this. Let's face it, McCallister is a bit of a flight risk as far as relationships go."

"Oh, because you and Trev-Trev are so grounded?"

"Well, we sure as Hell owned that paintball tournament last week!" Yuffie snickered.

"WHY would you bring THAT up?!" Jake wailed dramatically.

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him as he paid for the gun kit. "I'm just saying that Treffie is so far beating Tabake as far as awesomeness goes." She said, using Jake's odd couple nicknames that he had invented a while back.

"You watch yourself, Kisaragi…The black panther will rise again." He threatened.

**..:-X-:..**

**090 – The Paradox, Part Three**

It started and ended with a flash of blue light.

One moment, Cloud was alone at the Dark Depths, lost in his thoughts, and the next, the now-familiar form of Agent Mike was tumbling past him in a burst of blue light, rolling hard on her side and popping up in a half squat.

"Duck!" She barked.

Cloud had little time to process her sudden entrance, but he immediately ducked all the same. A cold mass sizzled through the air where his head had been a second earlier, and when he looked up, the cold mass was revealed to be a thick, black, serpentine creature.

"The Leech Hybrid?" He gripped his sword.

The time agent drew her gun. "I've been chasing it through five different realms now." She said, out of breath.

The writhing black snake-like monster launched itself at her chest with a snarl. Instead of firing her weapon, the agent lunged to the side and wound up beside Cloud.

"We really need to stop meeting like this." She managed with a wry wink.

Cloud slid three steps sideways, blocking the pathway from the Dark Depths that would lead back toward the main town. The hissing creature had recovered itself and was rounding on the two of them, its thick body undulating furiously. Seeing it now, in the cold light of day as opposed to the shady nighttime alley where he had seen its counterpart, Cloud noted the gaping hole of a mouth on the head of the thing. No fangs. No claws. Its eyes were narrow slits on the sides of the head, a vivid blue amidst the pitch black skin.

"Don't let it touch you." Agent Mike warned. "Once it latches on, it's almost impossible to get it off. It'll bleed you dry and…you saw what happened to my partner."

This was immediately proven to be easier said than done, as the Leech abruptly lurched at Cloud. He took an instinctive step backward, lifting his Buster Sword to defend himself. He couldn't move away, though, and let the thing barrel into town. Gripping the handle of the sword, Cloud swung baseball-style as the Leech careened toward him. The creature's momentum started to work against it, but just before it collided with the business end of the Buster Sword, the Leech seemed to effortlessly bend its body out of the way. It glided over the blade and re-directed itself in mid-air, the gaping hole of a mouth aiming at his throat.

Cloud cursed and ducked, drawing the broad side of his sword up to block it.

"Stopra!" Agent Mike barked.

The spell slammed into the scaly back of the Leech, with the residual force of it ballooning around the creature's body and encapsulating the Buster Sword. Cloud released the weapon before the spell could grab his hand, and he bounced back a step, staring at the sight.

Both the Leech and his Buster Sword were trapped in the Stop Spell, but while the Buster Sword was completely frozen, the Leech looked like it had been locked into slow motion. The skin and the scales continued to roll, and its body began to writhe in anger, but at a dramatically slowed rate.

Agent Mike hurried over to him. "Hybrids have a high tolerance against magic. It takes stronger spells to slow it down."

"Then why didn't you use a stronger spell?" Cloud snapped.

"What part of 'five realms' did you not hear?" She reproached, crossing over to the paralyzed beast. "I'm almost out of ether as it is."

The Leech made a horrid sucking noise with its mouth through the spell, and its already-bright blue eyes flickered.

"Shit." The agent cursed, hastening her movements toward it.

"What's it doing?"

"It's trying to open another portal." She explained. "That Stop Spell wasn't as strong as I thought it was."

"Or this…thing…is stronger than you thought it was." Cloud remarked.

She lifted her gun to the creature, pulling back the hammer to end the Leech, when the Stop Spell abruptly broke. With a crack and a snarl, the serpentine creature lunged at her. The Buster Sword clattered to the rocky floor and Agent Mike fired her gun instinctively. The bullet went wide and the Leech wrapped itself around her arm, its tail slapping her wrist where that strange watch was that enabled her to time travel.

Cloud reached her in two strides and caught her gun as she dropped it.

"Shoot it!" Agent Mike screamed, real fear flashing in her eyes as the Leech's mouth dove toward the skin of her forearm.

The technology on her wrist beeped and there was a blue flash of light. Cloud lifted the gun and swiftly took aim just as the Leech's mouth latched onto the woman's arm. She cried out in surprise and horror. Cloud couldn't take the shot; from where he was standing, the bullet would have torn through the Leech and hit the woman right in the chest.

The portal opened behind her and the time agent toppled backwards into it, struggling with the Leech as it clamped onto her forearm. Cloud didn't have time to think: he reached for her and just barely got a hold of her other arm. There was a harsh gust of wind and then he was falling after them. The portal closed, and only the Buster Sword was left in the Dark Depths.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"Merry Christmas."_


	31. Christmas

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or story. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Merry Christmas, readers! Enjoy the chapter. **

**..:-X-:..**

**091 – Routine Camaraderie**

It was still dark outside when Leon reached the Allied Headquarter building that morning. Any other time of the year, he was one of the first of the day workforce to clock in, arriving just as dawn was illuminating Radiant Garden. The winter months took that crack of dawn away from him, making it feel a lot earlier than it actually was. The bone deep cold of the winter morning certainly didn't help.

Leon crossed the first floor lobby without making eye contact with anyone, not the night shift that was clocking out and not the day shift that was clocking in with him. He stepped into an empty elevator and punched the button for the Weapons Specialist Department floor, glancing out into the lobby just enough to see Tabaeus McCallister a few meters shy of the elevator. The elevator doors started to close, and he stuck out one boot, holding it open. The soldier shuffled in with a grunt, turning to stand beside him. The elevator doors closed and started to chug upward.

McCallister had a few flecks of snow on her thick overcoat. Leon hadn't noticed any snow falling. He sniffed once and flexed his bad knee a few times as, beside him, McCallister unbuttoned her coat and shrugged out of it, looping it over her arm. The elevator eased to a stop on his department floor, and he exchanged a split second of eye contact with her, indicating that she step out first. As McCallister went to hang up her coat, Leon crossed the empty department. There generally weren't any Weapons Specialist soldiers in the office during the night hours; they were usually on patrol or on off-world missions. So it was up to him and Private McCallister, as the normal early birds of the department, to turn on the lights and start up the office machines.

Reaching his office, he unlocked the door and slid inside, flipping on the lights and crossing over to the desk. Paperwork, files, and a few packages that looked like mailed paperwork were stacked on the desk. He inwardly groaned and picked up the first folder of papers. Transfer requests, status reports, invoices, inventory listings: they were just the first of various other documents that glared up at him, demanding his attention and signature.

Bureaucracy at its finest.

It was too early for this.

A blue slip of paper near the top of a pile caught his attention as he booted up his computer. He frowned. Multi-colored paper was usually a warning sign; somebody really wanted their particular document to get special attention. He grudgingly plucked it out from under the other papers and skimmed his eyes through the body of it.

Gleaning nothing on first scan, he blinked and started at the beginning again, reading in earnest this time. It was a notice, directed at him, that, effective immediately, he was relieved of any duty to off-world missions or any duty demanding extensive travel outside Radiant Garden town proper. A few signatures were scribbled at the bottom, and his eyes habitually caught on Tabaeus McCallister's printed name near the bottom of the document, mentioned but not a signer. She had put in for this request.

He'd been put on the no-fly list.

For a moment, Leon just stared at the paper, one eye narrowing, unsure how to react. The screen on his computer flickered and opened the main screen: a smattering of program icons on the blue default background, along with the add-on calendar displaying three months' at a time. One entire week had been highlighted by him, done around the time of Tifa's first visit to the doctor confirming her pregnancy. Dr. Kim had estimated a due date, but it was only an estimate, so Leon had ended up blocking off an entire week…like a warning zone. That block of highlighted dates was fast approaching.

Just looking at exactly how close made his stomach knot. Sure, he had taken almost painful notice of how close it was getting, but it hadn't quite…hit…him yet. That blue slip of paper felt like a sucker punch. He and Tifa were going to be parents soon…Hell, he was going to be a FATHER. Now, he was effectively grounded so he wouldn't miss his daughter's birth.

Just like that, the floodgates opened. All of the concerns that had been festering near the back of his mind sprang to the forefront: missing his daughter's birth, not being present to support Tifa, being worlds away while it was happening, being unable to get there in time. Just as quickly as they washed over him, though, that blue slip of paper just as easily pulled the plug and let the concerns circle the drain. He was sidelined to Radiant Garden for the near future…for the next three weeks at least. Honestly, it would probably be for several months after that.

Leon wasn't going to leave Radiant Garden for the next SEVERAL MONTHS…because he would have a BABY to take care of. He started to sit down in his seat, but had barely done so before he shot back to his feet. They weren't ready. They weren't NEAR ready. The nursery wasn't finished. They hadn't even picked a NAME yet. They hadn't baby-proofed the house. There were naked electrical outlets EVERYWHERE!

With a rigid twitch, Leon stiffly left his office and marched into the break room for coffee. Almost absentmindedly, he poured two cups of straight black coffee. He carried them out, the blue paper under one arm, and was halfway through one of the cups—scalding tongue be damned, he needed caffeine—when he reached Tabaeus McCallister's cubicle. A few other interns had arrived at that point, woefully slouching into their cubicles. McCallister already had a report open and was pecking away at her keyboard.

Leon reached down and set the other coffee on her desk as thanks. She started in surprise, glancing at his face, down at the coffee, and back to him with a questioning look. He plucked the blue paper from under his arm and showed it to her. The surprise turned into a knowing look, and she lifted her coffee cup, knocking it lightly against his cup in a toast before taking a sip of it.

"Merry Christmas, sir." She smirked.

He just grunted and finished downing the rest of his coffee on the way back to his office.

**..:-X-:..**

**092 – The Art of Awkward**

Rinoa fidgeted with her hands as she stood in front of Eddy Lake's desk, watching him read her resignation letter. She wasn't sure what the protocol was for this. Was she supposed to leave? Step out and come back after he finished reading it? Stand there awkwardly? Well, at least she was doing that last one perfectly.

"Well." Eddy exhaled, setting the page back on his desk and looking up at her.

She offered an uncertain smile. "I, uh, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity and, er, I really appreciate you giving me the chance, but…um…I think my…optimal career path…is going in a different d-direction." She made a slow gesture with her hands outward.

"Yeah, you said that pretty verbatim in here." Eddy pointed at the letter.

"So…do you have to accept my resignation or is there something I have to fill out? I've never actually quit anything before. This is a first." She prompted.

"Sorry to cause you to break that record." He said, adjusting his glasses with a slight frown. "Is this a two-week notice or are you wanting to depart effective immediately?"

Rinoa was wrong-footed; she hadn't thought of that. "Um, I guess two weeks is the professional way to go, but…I doubt you'd be losing any productivity if I just left today. Your other employees would probably prefer that I left today, actually."

Eddy's frown deepened, and unexpected guilt hit her.

"What are your plans now, if you don't mind my asking?" He queried lukewarmly.

She fidgeted again. "I, uh, was actually looking into opening a bakery."

He remained impassive. "That's about as far from computers as you can get."

"Well, I'm terrible with technology, but I make a mean bagel, so…the universe balances, I guess." She shrugged and stopped fidgeting. "I'm sorry if this causes any inconven—"

"Not at all." He quickly interrupted, averting his eyes to his computer. "Time for you to move on. Bigger and better things."

It sounded like he was trying to shoo her out.

She bobbed her head, "Yup, guess so…So…I'll just…get out of your hair then."

Rinoa turned to leave and was halfway to the door when he called after her. "Wait."

She spun back around and noted that he had abruptly stood from his chair and promptly frozen there. He looked uncertain and cleared his throat.

"You—Do you—Would you want to get coffee or lunch sometime?" He blurted.

Rinoa stared back at him dumbly. "Huh?"

Blood filled the man's face, and he cleared his throat again.

"I mean, outside of work and all…Since you're quitting the Alliance, and I doubt you'll have much reason to ever visit the IT Department again…"

"I'd visit." She quipped indignantly.

Eddy sent her a knowing look. "Rinoa, c'mon." He gestured to the cluttered state of his office. "As glamorous as IT is, you have no interest in it. So…I mean, but I'd like to keep in touch…just as friends." He tacked on hastily with a short wave of his hands.

Was he trying to ask her out?

When she continued to stand there with a deer-in-the-headlights expression, Eddy adjusted his glasses again and shoved his hands in his pockets. "If you weren't busy…just sometime…maybe…I'm great at lending an ear; I could be a sounding board for bakery business ideas…or if you ever need IT help, you've, uh, you've got my number. Or just coffee…maybe…Or, y'know…" He shifted, as though trying to appear nonchalant—and failing spectacularly. "…whatever."

Rinoa snapped back to herself. "Thanks, Eddy."

"You're welcome." He automatically said, before immediately adding, "I mean…sure."

The instinctual part of Rinoa's brain was assessing the escape routes of the office, and she stepped backward. "Um, thanks again for…understanding about the whole—" She waved her hand through the air. "I should probably get going…Un-employed now and all…"

"Oh, right, sure." He nodded. "So was that a yes or no?"

"Thanks!" Rinoa blurted, stepping out of his office and closing the door after herself.

Embarrassment crashed over her, and she face-palmed herself. Thanks? THANKS? The Hell had she meant by that? She groaned and walked down the hall toward the elevator, taking the lift to the ground floor and stepping out into the lobby. Eddy, EDDY OF ALL PEOPLE, had just—attempted to—ask her out.

And she had thanked him.

Not said 'no,' and not said 'yes.' Just 'thanks.'

She just wanted to go home and bury herself in blankets and her own sense of awkwardness. She stepped outside and felt a gust of cold wind buffet her face. She gasped in surprise and noted that it was snowing. The morning had started with just a few flakes here and there, but it was flurrying in earnest now. It wasn't sticking yet, but the heavy clouds only ensured that there would be a healthy blanket of it by the next day, if not nightfall.

"Thanks," She murmured, "Ugh." She facepalmed again and shuffled out into the snow.

Maybe she'd just go home and bake muffins. Muffins didn't judge you.

**..:-X-:..**

**093 – Texting and Talking**

"So then I get this mess of text messages from Leon about…electrical outlets and other random stuff…" Tifa mused aloud. "Isn't the MOTHER supposed to be the one to go through the whole 'nesting' thing?"

Across the living room, Aerith just grunted, chewing on the end of her pencil as she read through some of her research notes.

Tifa glanced at her. "I've gotten everything squared away so that as soon as the baby arrives, my department can take care of itself while I'm away on leave."

Another grunt from Aerith, who didn't even look up from her notes.

Tifa eyed her with a lifted eyebrow. "Meanwhile, Sora's remembering Project Stasis. So that's big news that should get your attention."

Another grunt. No eye contact. She was completely distracted.

Tifa glanced around Merlin's living room, getting a mischievous idea. "I'm thinking about letting Jake be the midwife for the delivery instead of you." When she still got no reaction, Tifa leaned forward, staring hard at her. "Before I met Leon, me and Cloud had a quickie in Ansem's old office." Still getting no reaction from Aerith, Tifa sat up and put both hands on either side of her pregnant belly. "My water just broke!"

When Aerith STILL didn't look up from her notes, Tifa snatched up a throw pillow from the couch and threw it at her. The pillow clocked Aerith right in the face and the woman jerked to attention with a yelp, swatting the thing away.

"What was that for?!" She snapped.

"Oh, good, I was worried that you'd died over there." Tifa remarked.

Aerith exhaled and ran a hand over her hair, "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. I got distracted. What were you saying? Something about Jake and quickies?"

Tifa snorted. "Are you okay? I've seen you distracted; this is way past distracted."

Aerith sat forward, elbows on her knees, her hands pressed together as though in prayer, though she peered past her hands to Tifa pensively. "I'm about the break the universe."

Tifa blinked, "Wow. Good job."

"This." Aerith looked down at her notebook. "All of this. I've been…poking and researching and experimenting and…studying everything that I came across…But something occurred to me a few weeks ago and…" She looked back to Tifa. "If this hypothesis that I'm developing…If it's even remotely close to true or possible…"

She lifted her hands to either side of her head and made an explosion noise.

"Your mind will be blown?" Tifa guessed. "What's your hypothesis?"

Aerith shook her head, "I don't want…not yet…"

"Whole sentences…might help." Tifa suggested, hearing her phone buzz.

She picked it up and opened the text message. It was from Leon.

_Wut bout stairs?/ need fens on stirs_

Tifa narrowed one eye to decipher the message. Texting with Leon was like learning an entirely new language sometimes. She sent back: _Baby won't be crawling or near stairs for first few months. Chill out._

Almost immediately after sending, she got another. This time from Cid.

_Call ur husband. Hes texting me about baby things. Make him stop. PLEASE._

Before she could respond, she got a text from Jake: _Moonbeam-atron!_

Tifa deadpanned and responded to Jake with "_that's not a name, you're just embarrassing yourself now_" and then Cid with "_Sorry, just bear with it for a bit_."

When she looked up from her phone, Aerith was staring at her flatly.

"What?" Tifa prompted.

"You completely zoned out. I was talking about my research and you tuned me out."

"Ha, not so fun when you're on the ignored end, eh?" Tifa set her phone down. "Sorry, go ahead."

Aerith rubbed her eyes, looking exhausted. "No, I'm too tired. Thanks, but I feel like I just need to get back out there and keep poking at all of this. Maybe I'll get some answers if I just stare into the abyss of space long enough."

Tifa started to speak, but her phone went off again.

_Godprents? we ned to nake wils._

Tifa groaned and started the arduous task of climbing out of the recliner. "Ugh, Leon is talking about wills now. I need to go do damage control."

Aerith was looking at her phone now as well. "Cid just texted me saying that he's changing his number and not to tell Leon." She lifted an eyebrow.

Tifa noted the heavy snow falling outside and paused. "I'm not going out in this. I'll just call his office."

"Did you pretend to be going into labor earlier to get my attention?"

"Shh, Aerith, I've got a panicky man on the phone. This is a delicate situation."

"Well, then I advise against pretending to go into labor again. You might kill him."

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **A continuation from my other stories of Leon's mad textin' skillz, haha. And Jake is adding his contribution to the recurring problem of Tifa and Leon being unable to settle on a baby name, so they've tried to narrow it down to a name that starts with 'M.'

**Preview for next week:** _Cloud was quiet about a lot of things, but he almost looked traumatized by whatever had happened._


	32. Auld Lang Syne

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs. Looks like we survived 2012, and now it's on to 2013. Happy New Year, readers! Enjoy the chapter.**

**..:-X-:..**

**094 – Back from the Future**

"10:32?" Aerith asked, turning the knobs on the clock.

Yuffie was standing on a chair in the kitchen of Merlin's house, fiddling with the wall hanging clock. "10:33 and 25 seconds…26…27…"

"All right, I'll set it to 10:34 then." Aerith said.

"What? No. It has to be exact!" Yuffie declared. "When the clock tolls midnight, ALL clocks must toll midnight. It'll be like this big, reverberating boom to the new year."

"There's going to be at least a few seconds delay. We can't get it exact." Aerith sighed.

"It would be negligence on our part as hostesses to allow the living room to go into the new year almost a whole half a minute before the kitchen." Yuffie snapped.

Aerith snorted and continued to wind the clock. "Are these the last two?"

Music was blaring from the living room, and Aerith could hear people talking and laughing as Merlin's New Year's Eve party got into full swing. Yuffie in particular had gotten truly enthusiastic as the dawn of the new year neared. She had been particularly enthusiastic about the New Year's Eve tradition of kissing someone at midnight. Little surprise as to why.

"Yup." Yuffie chirped. "Then we will be exactly one hour, 24 minutes, and 10 seconds away from—"

The back door opened abruptly, swinging wide and smacking into the wall as Cloud stormed in. Aerith and Yuffie both jumped, and Aerith started to smirk but stopped when she saw the expression on Cloud's face. He was white as a sheet, except for the very noticeable red burn mark on the left side of his jaw, and both of his pupils looked blown wide.

"Cloud." Aerith stepped toward him, afraid he was about to topple over.

He looked at her, almost startled, as though he hadn't realized where he was.

"Is he gonna puke?" Yuffie asked, then directly at Cloud. "Are you gonna puke?"

Cloud shook his head no, but he started to list sideways. He caught himself and looked unevenly at Aerith. "Aerith—"

"Sit down." Aerith reached him, grasping his elbows and aiming him toward the nearest couch. "Yuffie, could you—"

"I think I missed a clock in the den." Yuffie hopped off the chair and left them alone.

Cloud slumped into the couch, offering no resistance. Aerith sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, lifting her hands to his face and turning his jaw slowly to inspect the burn. It was nearly three inches long and looked fresh. She hissed lightly at the wound.

"This looks like it hurts. What happened?" She asked. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since…" She paused, blinked. "…for a while anyway." She grimaced, "I'm going to get the first aid kit. That needs to be treated."

She retrieved the little red box and returned to where Cloud hadn't moved. Wordlessly, she popped it open and started cleaning the angry red burn. He only barely reacted. She didn't push her questions, and the silence hung thick between them as she dressed the burn. His silence was making her worry increase exponentially. Cloud was quiet about a lot of things, but he almost looked traumatized by whatever had happened.

"Something happened." He finally murmured.

Aerith stilled, closing the first aid kit and looking at him patiently.

"I, uh, went somewhere…It was Agent Mike." He said hoarsely.

Aerith deflated slightly. "What?"

"I saw her again. I went with her." He said.

Red flags went up in Aerith's head. "Went with her…where? How exactly?"

"Out." Cloud made a vague gesture.

"You went…out…with her." Aerith iterated slowly.

Cloud made eye contact with her, "She was attacked. There was a…monster…Somehow her time travel machine thing went off and opened a portal. She fell into it, but she was still being attacked by that thing…So I went after her and wound up…out."

Aerith drew a measured breath. Cloud had been talking about this situation for months. It was always about time travel, this agent woman—who no one else ever saw, conveniently enough—and this non-Heartless monster that she was supposedly hunting. She'd always considered Cloud to be a grounded person, but his history with delusion and existential crises made the line hazy to interpret. She honestly wasn't sure how to handle this.

"Where is 'out'?" She asked, exasperated and worried at the same time.

"The future…" He cleared his throat, "The past…Other places."

Aerith pursed her lips. "Cloud," She reached out and cupped her hand around the unburned side of his face. "I'm trying to understand here, but you're not making sense and…You're scaring me. Time travel doesn't exist."

Cloud closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyelids. "I saw—" He cut off abruptly, curling forward until he was almost doubled over in his seat, head bowed.

Aerith chewed the side of her lip and placed her hand on his back. She could feel him shaking. That broke her and she put her arms around him in a hug, holding him.

"Tell me." She murmured. "Tell me what you saw."

**..:-X-:..**

**095 – The Stroke of Midnight**

"No, nononono, look." Yuffie pointed. "The computer clock says 11:45 but the one on the wall says 11:47. Can no one set time properly?!"

"Whoa, whoa, okay." Trevor lifted his hands placatingly. "Let's just fix it. We've still got 13 minutes—"

"Fifteen minutes!" Yuffie corrected, "This is why we can't have nice things!"

Trevor smirked at her fervor, lifting his beer to cover the grin.

"Don't you laugh at me." Yuffie pointed at him threateningly.

"I'm not." He said through a snicker.

Across the room at the couch, Jake was fiddling with the little paper umbrella in his drink. "But it's tradition, Tabaeus."

McCallister, for once out of her fatigues and wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt, looked at him flatly. "Since when are you a man of tradition?"

"I take my kissing traditions seriously. You were there with the Mistletoe Incident last week." He gestured. "You saw my dedication."

"Yes, and Commander Highwind is still threatening to kill you for that."

"C'mon, the kiss at midnight is the ultimate tradition." He grinned. "Fifteen minutes from now, one kiss, and then I'll stop bothering you about it."

Tabaeus rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. "Ten minutes, actually."

Rinoa set down her drink, eying it strangely for a moment before looking up at Beverly. "What did you put in this again?"

Beverly beamed. "That would be whiskey."

Rinoa hiccupped and took another drink, grimacing as it burned down her throat. "Ugh, it's terrible." She took another drink and nearly choked again. "I'll have two more."

Beverly smirked and poured another drink. "Go easy on these. They'll sneak up on ya."

"I found a shop." Rinoa hiccupped. "For a bakery. It's perfect. It's expensive." She chugged the drink. "Too expensive."

"Well…" Beverly tilted her head. "Chin up. Enter the new year with a give-'em-hell attitude."

The bell in the clocktower in Radiant Garden's town square suddenly tolled.

Everyone at the party paused in their conversations and laughter to look at their watches and cellphone clocks, which Yuffie had forced them to synchronize with the house clocks. According to their times, the clocktower had rung five minutes too early.

"What?!" Yuffie barged into the living room. Cid walked in from outside and Yuffie stared daggers at him. "What time is it?!"

Cid removed his weather gloves. "Midnight."

"Quick!" Jake leaned toward Tabaeus.

She squeaked but didn't lean away, letting him kiss her sloppily on the lips.

With a sort of giggly shrug, the rest of the party did the same: finding their significant others—or comparably drunk friends—and participated in the New Year's tradition. Beverly pointed at Cid, curling her finger toward herself with a tempting smile. He smirked and shook his head, shrugging out of his jacket as he crossed over to her.

Rinoa watched them kiss and groaned, downing her last shot.

Yuffie huffed. "But…but it's not midnight! I've got nearly a dozen clocks throughout this house that say that it is—" She checked her wristwatch. "Three minutes and 16 seconds until midnight."

Trevor sauntered out of the den to stand beside her. "Did you read the clocktower's time right before you started changing all the clocks in the house?"

Yuffie put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Of course I did. I'm not stupid." When Trevor just grinned at her knowingly, she narrowed her eyes. "I checked it. I'm like…80 percent sure I checked it."

Trevor sighed and reached down, grasping Yuffie's hand and lifting it. She eyed him warily as he turned her wrist, twisting the little knob on the side of the watch to adjust the time. She looked down at the watch face and saw the minute-hand advance three minutes. He stopped adjusting and clicked the knob back in. The second-hand resumed its forward clicking, inching toward the number twelve, closer to a second midnight.

"Three." Trevor said, standing in front of her. "Two." He leaned in. "One."

The kiss was just a peck on the lips, and when Yuffie blinked and just stared at him, he smiled and kissed her again, properly this time. She closed her eyes and returned it, feeling his arms move around her back. Then he was tilting her backward, lowering her into a ballroom dip as he kissed her. Yuffie giggled and kept her hands on his shoulders. They both soon ran out of air and the kiss ended. Trevor stood her back on her feet.

She cleared her throat and patted his arm. "That…you…Shut up."

Suddenly, every single clock in Merlin's house began to ring as they all simultaneously tolled midnight, ushering in the new year.

**..:-X-:..**

**096 – M is for Mystery**

"Monica." Tifa suggested.

"Margaret." Leon countered.

Tifa tapped her chin. "…Mindy."

"McCallister would never speak to us again." Leon shook his head.

Tifa groaned and reclined along the length of the couch, her head slumping against the armrest. "I thought the whole point of picking a first letter was supposed to narrow this down."

Leon lifted his shoulders, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. "Who knew there were so many names that started with M?"

On the floor beside him, Duke the golden retriever lay curled up, tail swishing occasionally as he scratched her ears. The dog yawned and closed her eyes as he petted her.

"Mona." Tifa input.

"As in Lisa?" Leon grimaced.

She smacked the back of his head.

Leon pursed his lips. "Mmm…Marla."

"Ugh."

"Molly…Milly…May…Mai…"

"You're just making noises now."

"Oh, because you've been offering such amazing suggestions?"

"I like something with a K in it." She quipped. "Mackenzie?"

Leon pondered it. "That one's a possible."

Tifa shifted on the couch, and he twisted around to look back at her. She looked uncomfortable, and she couldn't get settled on the couch. That had become the norm over the past few weeks. Her middle had become so swollen and heavy that she couldn't get comfortable. She was constantly exhausted and every part of her body ached. He was pretty limited in his capacity to help her with any of that. Beyond body rubs and cooking anything that she had a craving for, regardless of whether or not it was conventional to put mustard on those foods, he was pretty useless.

She caught him watching her and smirked. "It's not polite to gawk at whales."

"Pfft." He exhaled, shifting around so that he was facing her. "You're not a whale."

Duke snorted in displeasure at his facing away from her and taking his hand with him. She licked his elbow and lowered her head again.

"Ugh, I just wish that she'd come out already." Tifa rubbed the side of her stomach. Before Leon could reply, she started to sit up, tapping him on the shoulder to tell him to move.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She sat up, swinging her legs to the floor. "I'm getting up and walking around. The books say that taking walks could help start the process."

Leon sprang to his feet and helped her stand. "Where do you plan on walking to? There're nearly two feet of snow outside."

"Then I'll be walking…to the study…then to the kitchen…then back here…maybe to the back porch and back to the front door." She gestured vaguely. "Y'know…'around'."

Leon sighed and extended an arm. "Then, after you."

She lifted her chin and moved past him, walking slowly around the couch and toward the hallway. Leon fell into step beside her, biting his tongue to keep from making a joke about how she didn't quite 'walk' anymore as she more 'waddled.'

"Michonne." Tifa prompted as they stepped down the hall.

"Because our daughter will be a katana-wielding zombie-killer." Leon said flatly.

Tifa snorted. "All right, fine. Your turn."

"Marsha."

"Eh, maybe. How about Michelle? Misha? Mikinley?"

Leon narrowed one eye. "Mikinley?"

"Mik…Miklyn? Mikkie? Oh, ha, no. Mary? Mary Sue?"

"Bite your tongue." Leon hissed, "Midnight."

Tifa lifted her eyebrows at him. "You want to name our daughter 'Midnight'?"

"No, it's…past midnight." Leon pointed to the clock on the wall.

"Thus ends our last year as a family of two." Tifa said loftily with a snort.

"This time next year…" Leon started, but trailed away.

A thousand different things could be happening 'this time next year,' and not all of them pleasant. Wars had started and ended in less time. People were born, people died, technology changed, and everything got a year older in the span of one year. He glanced into the study room distractedly as they walked past it. What other changes lay in store for their next 365 days?

"Hey," She caught him frowning, and she kissed him softly. "Happy New Year."

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** Yes, Michonne was a reference from The Walking Dead. Mwahaha. There was also a slim, teeny tiny wink in there at Supernatural. Anybody in that fandom probably saw it; if not, it didn't really add anything to the chapter. It just sort of…snuck in there.

Cloud's escapade with Agent Mike will be explored further in later ditties. There's still Paradox Parts Four and Five until that gets wrapped up.

**Preview for next week:** _After the first 14 hours of contractions, Tifa began to regret her decision to go painkiller-free, because the subsequent half an hour brought with it the most intense pain that she had ever experienced._


	33. Baby

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. This is it: the big chapter where Leon and Tifa's family of two officially becomes a family of three! Let the cute-induced cavities commence after this chapter. Um, I guess a slight warning, there is a birth scene. It's pretty implicit and non-graphic, but…warning anyway, I suppose. Enjoy meeting the new addition to the group!**

**..:-X-:..**

**097 – Baby**

The Jeep wasn't running right. Leon had set out that afternoon to fix the old beat up vehicle. It had never run smoothly, but even being automotive-inept, he knew that the _bang-clank-strum-bonk_ noise was indicative of something not working properly. Fortunately or unfortunately, Cloud had been in the same general area of the garage performing maintenance on Fenrir. He had taken one glance over in Leon's direction and figured out that Leon had less than no idea what he was doing.

Now Leon found himself standing three feet away from the Jeep as Cloud leaned over the open engine cavity, prodding and tinkering with the parts.

"That…noise…probably because the…carburetor…blew a…spark plug…messed up the transmission and…brake fluid." He mumbled aimlessly.

Cloud didn't even look up from the engine. "You're just blurting out car jargon. You have no clue what's wrong with this thing, do you?"

Leon didn't respond until Cloud finally looked up at him. He glared at the man for a long moment before muttering, "I don't need your help. Go back to your dumb motorcycle."

Without flinching, Cloud lifted a giant rusted coil out of the engine cavity. "I will, if you can tell me where this goes." He challenged.

Leon narrowed his eyes, feeling his phone buzzing in his pocket. "Fine. It…" He tugged the phone out with one hand and pointed to the lower right corner of the engine with the other. "It goes there."

"_Eeennt_." Cloud made a loud buzzer noise with his mouth and tossed the coil over his shoulder. "Wrong. It goes nowhere. Except maybe the trash."

Leon grumbled and saw Tifa's name on the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey." She sounded breathless. "Where are you?"

"At the garage—" Leon started.

"Getting his ass handed to him." Cloud mocked loudly.

Leon kicked him in the shin and turned away so he could ignore him. "What's up?"

"Come home." She said tersely. "Or the baby will get here before you do."

Leon's spine straightened, and his eyes widened. "I'm on my way. Are you okay? How far apart are contractions? Is someone there with you?"

"Cramping. Ten minutes. And Aerith." Tifa's voice sounded strained.

Leon spun back around to see Cloud staring at him with wide eyes. He stammered, holding the phone to his ear. "I gotta go…do Dad things."

Cloud pointed to the door, "Go then!" He shooed, a grin curling his mouth.

Leon suddenly felt like he was being pulled in a dozen different directions, and he awkwardly stared for a moment at the disheveled state of the Jeep.

"I'll take care of this. What do you need?" Cloud asked flat out.

"Ah, Leon." Tifa gasped on the phone, Aerith's voice was in the background.

"I'm coming, babe." Leon told her, looking to Cloud. "Call the department. Tell McCallister to take over for the rest of the day. She'll take care of my schedule. Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, go!" Cloud pointed to the door again.

Leon didn't need telling again. He practically left a Leon-shaped hole in the wall as he bolted out of the garage and sprinted home. Duke was barking in the front yard as he vaulted up the front steps. He skidded through the front door and nearly wiped out on the side table by the door, staggering off balance into the living room, phone still at his ear.

"Tifa." He called out. "Aerith."

"Upstairs." Aerith answered.

He bounded up the stairs and reached his and Tifa's bedroom as a panting, sweaty mess. That made he and Tifa a matching set, as his wife was sitting on a wooden chair, hands on her knees as she leaned forward, breathing heavily as her hair clung to her face. She was only wearing a t-shirt, and her swollen belly was poking out from the bottom of it. Aerith was squatting in front of Tifa, talking to her in low, reassuring tones. Apparently he'd stumbled in right in the middle of a contraction.

Aerith looked over at his entrance, as Tifa's eyes were screwed shut. "Hey. Whoa." Aerith blinked at his appearance. "You have no blood in your face."

Leon couldn't think of a smart comeback, wiping idly at his face, as though to coax some color back into it: he didn't want Tifa to see him petrified. Even if he completely was. Especially since he completely was.

Tifa exhaled suddenly in a rush and a warbling groan. "Ugh, that's been the worst one yet." She murmured, straightening a little as her eyes found Leon's. "Hey, you."

Leon wasn't prepared for this. For nine months, they had been planning, preparing, bracing themselves for the arrival of this baby. They'd read books and baby-proofed and done research…and the whole time that Tifa had been carrying their child, Leon had been carrying the growing terror of 'what if.' What if something went wrong? Giving birth at home couldn't be as safe as a hospital, around doctors and medicine and emergency…stuff. Given that his own mother had died as a result of childbirth, the nightmare had been increasingly haunting him. Losing Tifa. Losing the baby. Losing them both. He wouldn't survive it.

But throughout all of that, Tifa had been a rock. She had been a superhero for the past nine months. Never batting an eye. Never sharing any doubts or fears or trepidation. For her, this was going to happen, and it was going to be fine because she would MAKE IT SO. But, in that moment that Leon's eyes met hers, he saw that fear. He saw pain and exhaustion and fear running rampant there.

Something in him shifted in that moment. He slipped into combat mode, grabbing onto the calm that he'd developed during the war, the ability to shelve emotions and fear and thoughts of mortality. He needed to be the rock this time.

Then Tifa broke eye contact with a startled cry. "Ah, ow, another one."

**..:-X-:..**

After the first 14 hours of contractions, Tifa began to regret her decision to go painkiller-free, because the subsequent half an hour brought with it the most intense pain that she had ever experienced.

"Already?" Aerith was saying.

Tifa couldn't speak; she just nodded and kept her eyes squinted closed as she breathed against the pressure in her lower body. She had felt the first contractions early that morning, just as the sun had been rising. After a week of false labor and the usual Braxton-Hicks cramps, she had dismissed the brief pangs. But as she had been punished all morning and afternoon for her dismissal, it had taken her water breaking in the shower to drive reality home.

The contraction dulled enough for Tifa to catch her breath, looking up from her sitting position. She had seen Leon come in, like a hurricane, but when her eyes found him this time, the panic of his presence was reduced. He'd taken off his jacket, gloves, and silver Griever necklace, leaving him just in a white t-shirt and pants as he knelt down in front of her beside Aerith.

"Hey, you." He returned her greeting belatedly, his voice quiet and smooth.

She breathed measuredly, running one hand around the bulge of her stomach. "Leon." Just saying his name brought some relief, however minuscule. She reached out and found his shoulder with one hand. "Baby's coming."

"I can see that." He covered her hand on his shoulder with his own, giving it a light squeeze. "Contractions seem pretty close together. When did this start?"

"Over twelve hours ago." She replied with a hiss as her muscles cramped. "I'm sorry. I didn't know this was what real labor felt like. I thought…ugh…" She inhaled sharply.

"It's okay." He murmured immediately. "I'm here right now."

"Are you good there?" Aerith was asking from the side. "If you need to move, you can go ahead. Your body knows what it's doing."

It didn't feel like it knew what it was doing, Tifa mused. Her body felt like chaos: all adrenaline and hormones and pressure. Hot tears hit her eyes as the next wave of pain hit. She involuntarily leaned forward, her other hand finding Leon's other shoulder, so that he was square in front of her, on his knees on the floor while she sat on the edge of the chair. A groan clawed its way out of her throat as the pressure in her lower pelvis escalated, and she barely registered Leon's hands on her knees, holding her steady.

She had to do something. She had to move. She had to push back against the pressure or it was going to tear her apart. When Aerith had last checked her, she had been almost fully dilated, but not quite all the way there. That was before the contractions began to eclipse each other. Tifa gritted her teeth as she groaned again and did just that, pushed back against the pressure. The pain didn't ease, but it didn't get worse, as it had been before.

"Breathe." Aerith advised. "Just—are you pushing?" She asked in surprise.

"Ihadto." Tifa blurted in a rush. Inhaling again as the pain faded, she wiped her forehead. "I had to." She straightened. "I need to move."

Leon popped up off his knees, faltering almost imperceptibly when his bad knee protested. Then he was on his feet in front of her. "I've got you."

Tifa let him take her arms, helping her stand. Ever since this had all started, she had been walking and moving and trying to get the process moving along. Now it had moved along a lot farther than she had expected, and all she wanted to do was lie down. She aimed herself toward the bed, and Leon picked up on it, keeping a hand at her back as she shuffled to the bed, ready to support her if she needed it.

She sat tentatively on the bed before sliding back and maneuvering onto her side, lying there with her eyes closed and trying to regulate her breathing. If her body had any idea what it was doing, this was going to be over pretty quickly.

"I'm going to see how far you are." Aerith said, sitting on the edge of the bed at Tifa's feet.

Being too strung out to put up a resistance, Tifa let Aerith check her out, and a few seconds later, she could feel Leon close by, one of his hands finding hers. She squeezed back, the anxiety bubbling up in her chest.

"You're fully dilated." Aerith informed. "The steering wheel is in your hands, Tifa."

Tifa opened her eyes and looked at Leon, and then she lowered her eyes to her stomach. This was actually happening. They were…they were about to meet their baby, their daughter. They were about to become parents, a new dynamic duo. Color had returned to Leon's face plus some, as he now looked slightly flushed, making his eyes overbright. But he was completely calm, still and strong right there in front of her. And he had been a panicky mess throughout all 9 months of this…If he could stay calm, then she could stay calm.

**..:-X-:..**

Leon was not calm. Every flicker of pain in Tifa's eyes, every cringe that crossed her face, and every noise of distress across her lips was like a knife in his chest. Tifa was in pain, and that was a direct violation of what was acceptable to Leon. But her eyes stayed on him, so he stayed as outwardly calm as possible, even as her shoulders trembled and she continued to breathe heavily.

Aerith had parted Tifa's knees and taken up station at that end of the bed. "Do you feel like pushing again?" She asked.

Tifa sniffed and nodded, shifting but staying on her side.

"All right." Aerith said. "Push with the contractions, rest in between okay?"

"Ah, okay." Tifa mumbled, her body tensing as another bout of pain came.

Leon felt utterly useless as he held her hand. Tifa held her breath, her torso curling in slightly as she pushed with the contraction. Leon started to count off ten seconds in his head, but then snapped out of it.

"Five, six, seven." He said aloud. "Eight, nine, ten."

At 'ten,' Tifa exhaled and gasped for breath, brow furrowed as she relaxed.

"Good." Aerith said. "That was perfect, Tifa."

Tifa breathed deliberately, removing her hand from Leon's and touching her stomach, "She's not moving." She said.

"That's okay." Aerith assured. "It's going to take more than one push." She offered a comforting smile. "Pace yourself." She looked to Leon, giving a short tilt her head toward Tifa.

Leon took the cue. "Might feel better if you sit up, Tifa."

She swallowed and nodded, "Okay."

"You don't have to." Leon jumped to her aid as she started to get up. "Whatever feels comfortable."

"None of this is comfortable." She murmured with a wince.

Instead of dragging the pillows together to prop her up, Leon immediately filled the space between her and the headboard himself, sliding behind her to effectively be her backstop. He felt her lean back against him, her body warm, if sweaty and tense. Feeling like he was holding her and supporting her enhanced his sense of purpose. She was doing all the hard work here, but he was going to be the best cheerleader in Radiant Garden. That was for damn sure.

Tifa said nothing of his impromptu action, merely dropped the back of her head in the crook of his neck and leaned against him. Her right hand found his again and squeezed. He could feel the anxiety and pain through that squeeze, and Leon turned his head, pressing his lips into her hair comfortingly.

"You're doing so great." He spoke into her hair. "You're amazing."

Tifa didn't outwardly respond, too focused on what was coming. When it came, she tensed and lifted her head from his neck, bowing forward with a low noise from her throat. Leon was careful not to jostle her, but he remained steadfast against her back as she endured it.

"One, two, three…" He counted off. "Four, five, six…"

Tifa released her breath and harshly inhaled again, resuming her push against the contraction, squeezing his hand. Aerith was watching for movement, and Leon couldn't read her expression.

So he kept counting. "Seven, eight, nine, ten."

Tifa exhaled again, keening lightly as she reclined against his chest.

"Great, that was great, Tifa." Aerith said. "On the next—"

Tifa yelped and went rigid again, "Ow, ow, ah…" She abruptly started pushing again.

**..:-X-:..**

No sooner had the contraction ended than another immediately took its place. So Tifa did what her instincts told her to: she pushed. She lost all awareness of Leon behind her and Aerith in front of her. The pressure of the baby moving down her body was smashing through her lower back, and she cried out in pain as it overwhelmed her, along with a sudden burning between her legs.

"Oh, there she is." Aerith sounded far away. "Her head…She's crowning."

Leon was counting, but Tifa barely heard him until he reached that blessed 'ten.' But even as 'ten' came and went, she had no reprieve. The contraction didn't fade, the pressure didn't ebb this time, and the active pain caused her to let out a startled cry.

"Okay, easy." Aerith was instructing. "Gently."

"Remember to breathe." Leon's voice was close, right behind her.

Tifa was still holding his hand, and she tightened her grip as her insides twisted, sending a fresh onslaught of pain through her pelvis. She curled forward, straining against it, and she felt movement…but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough!

"Help." She wheezed, feeling her knees trembling.

"We are, but we can't do this for you." Aerith was saying. "We're right here."

Leon used his free hand to slide her hair away from her neck, his other hand locked in her vise-like grip. "You can do this. I love you."

Tifa gave a breathless yelp as her insides tightened again. "I want her out."

"Give us another push." Aerith nodded, "Her head is coming. Push, Tifa."

Tifa felt something in her right hand grip crack and pop loudly as she bore down, curling forward as she pushed. Aerith's hands were guiding her knees farther apart, and Tifa anchored onto that, moving both hands under her knees, finding some source of control. Her jaw clenched as she expended more energy, and she was rewarded with a sharp drop in the pressure.

"Head is out." Aerith informed.

Tifa sagged back against Leon, feeling his heart hammering against her back, while her own pulse throbbed through her skull.

"Tifa." Leon sounded breathless. "Her head…I can see her. She's almost out."

Almost. Tifa swallowed and opened her eyes, fear welling up and threatening to stop her heart. "Aerith…How's she…look?"

Aerith was moving towels around, hands ready to catch the baby. "She looks perfect, Tifa." The woman smiled widely, tears rimming her eyes. "She's right here. She's just right here." She reached up, taking one of Tifa's hands and guiding it to feel the baby's head.

"That's your baby." Aerith pressed. "You're touching your daughter."

Tifa reminded herself to breathe as emotion flooded her chest. She felt Leon shudder against her back, but there was no time to ponder why.

"Another one's…coming." Tifa panted. "The shoulders…"

"The head is the hardest part, remember?" Leon said, but his voice was trembling now. "She's almost here. You're doing so great, Tifa. You're so strong."

Tifa's lip wavered at that, and Aerith held the baby's head steady.

"Try to relax through the next contraction." She was saying. "Breathe through it. Let it do all the work, if you can."

Tifa breathed heavily. "Feels better…when I push…"

Aerith nodded, "Okay. It's up to you."

"Okay." Tifa repeated. "Okay…ooh."

As the pressure returned, Tifa gave in and pushed, feeling the shoulders moving down. She ran out of breath and stopped pushing, crying out when the pain went on without her. She inhaled and bore down again, acutely aware of every fiber of her being and of the being emerging from her.

"One more push." Leon was coaxing. "Come on, Tifa, you can do it."

"Here she comes. She's coming." Aerith's voice went up a notch.

**..:-X-:..**

For one eternal moment, Leon could only see Tifa, her face rigid as she strained to give birth, her body shaking in his arms, blood coloring the sheets under her. He could only lean forward with her in that eternal moment, as though he could transfer some of his strength to her, as her reserves were running out.

For that one moment, there was only Tifa. In the next moment, it was Tifa and a baby.

Aerith moved quickly, catching the newborn as the tiny life exited Tifa's body in a rush of fluid and blood. Tifa gasped and sagged against Leon, as though her bones had vanished. He grabbed onto her, but he could feel her heart pounding and feel her breath on his jaw as she panted. Their eyes didn't seek one another this time. They were locked on the pink and purple body in Aerith's hands. The body that wasn't moving or making any sound.

"Leon." Tifa whimpered weakly.

"You did it." Leon wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You did great. You were perfect. You're okay. It's okay."

Aerith turned the newborn over, making sure all of the tiny airways were clear. So tiny. The baby was so much smaller than Leon had ever thought. Babies were small, of course, but she looked so…fragile and impossibly vulnerable.

"Be careful." He blurted, as Aerith tapped on the baby's back.

Then the newborn coughed, hiccupped, and two tiny lungs filled and offered a loud cry. Suddenly animated, the baby girl let out a loud scream at the new world she'd just been shoved into. The noise was wet and shrill…and it was the most beautiful sound that Leon had ever heard.

"Leon…" Tifa gasped this time, her voice cracking.

"I see her." Leon choked. "She's here. She's…she's perfect."

Aerith made quick work of cleaning the fluid from the newborn, turning her onto her back and wrapping her in a loose baby blanket. All the while, the child wailed.

"Oh my God." Tifa murmured brokenly. "I did it. Look at her."

Aerith smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey, time to meet your parents, little one."

Tifa found the strength to sit up, holding her arms out. Aerith happily deposited the bundle into her arms, careful to move the still-attached umbilical cord out of the way. Tifa sank back against Leon, completely still now. The newborn's screams had lapsed into unhappy whimpering at that point.

"Hi." Tifa said. "Hey. Hello, baby."

Leon could do little more than stare. The baby was small and bright pink. She had a tuft of dark hair plastered to her scalp, and her eyes were squinted closed. She looked so squishy and soft and tiny and fragile and perfect. The bottom had fallen out of Leon's stomach, and his chest felt like it was going to explode.

This was his daughter. He had a daughter. She was right there. Tangible. Touchable.

As soon as that thought registered, there was nothing more in all the worlds that he wanted to do more than touch her. He started to move his hand, but pain splintered up through the fingers of his right hand that Tifa had crushed—and probably broken, if the unnatural angles were any indication—so he switched quickly to his left hand, lifting it from Tifa's side. He hesitated for a microsecond before smoothly cupping his hand around the back of the baby's head.

She was warm.

Leon broke.

It was as though a new chamber in his heart had been carved out, and it was immediately filled with a resonating sense of love and fear and responsibility for this new, tiny life. It was so intense and it hit so hard that he physically stopped breathing. It was painful. He thought he had known love, experienced fear, and always felt responsibility. He had never felt it so keenly though.

His vision slurred and he blinked furiously, refusing to let anything spoil the view of her. One of her arms had gotten loose from the blanket, and her hand was curled in an itty bitty fist near her jaw. Tifa made an indescribable noise and lifted a hand, tracing a finger over those tiny fingers.

"Our little rockstar." She whispered.

Leon choked, his lungs remembering to breathe before the rest of him did. As he got his breath, the heat burning across his face and behind his eyes felt like it was spilling over, and his nose burned as he slid his thumb down the baby's cheek, settling on her little shoulder. The newborn squirmed and gave a half-hearted whimper.

"Hey, Dad." Aerith chirped suddenly. "Would you like to cut the cord?"

Leon blinked again—why was it so hard to keep his vision clear?—and found Aerith sitting by Tifa's legs, having already tied off the umbilical cord and holding a set of surgical scissors. He stared at her, dumbstruck for a moment. She'd just called him…He was a…

Tifa turned her head, looking up at him. Still sweaty and flushed, but the pain was gone from her face and her eyes were beautifully bright and reflective. She was glowing in new motherhood, and she was smiling. She pursed her lips briefly as their eyes met.

"Oh, Leon." She said softly, reaching up and brushing a hand across his cheek.

He closed his eyes briefly at her touch, and her thumb slid across the hollow under his left eye, dragging away moisture. As did the rest of her entire hand. His chest constricted and Leon cleared his throat, straightening.

"Yeah. Yes." He repeated, wiping at his face, only to find that both eyes had been pouring hot tears down his face. "Yes."

Tifa sat up away from him, and Leon wiggled out from behind her more reluctantly than he'd done anything in his life. He involuntarily kept his right hand away from touching anything, taking the proffered scissors somewhat awkwardly with his left hand. Aerith gestured where to cut, and Leon deftly closed the blades around the cord, severing it.

Aerith was wiping at her own happy tears, though they were trickles on her cheeks as opposed to the veritable rivers running down Leon's face, clinging to his jaw and making a break down his neck.

"Congratulations." She said in a breaking voice, pulling him into a hug.

He was so limp that he caved right into the hug before sinking out of it to sit in front of Tifa and the baby. Tifa smiled at him, and she lifted a hand to his neck. Leon needed no further prompting and came forward, kissing his wife on the mouth. She returned the kiss, both their tears mixing together with the sweat on her face.

Leon withdrew first, scooting closer and looking down at their daughter. "Hi." He greeted hoarsely, touching that tiny fist as she curled it against her chin.

There weren't words for this.

"Hello there, Mackenzie." Tifa said. "We're your parents."

"Mackenzie." Leon repeated thoughtfully.

Tifa canted her head, looking down at her, "She's not a Mackenzie."

"Here." Aerith appeared in Leon's periphery, holding a bag of ice. "Your hand."

Leon took the bag and glanced at his right hand. His ring and pinkie fingers were already bruising and swelling. Both fingers would need to be reset, but he just dropped the ice on top of them for the time being with a grunt of thanks.

"She looks like a Kayla." Aerith mused.

"Mikayla." Tifa corrected. "To start with an M, right?" She looked to Leon.

He smiled and looked from Tifa to the baby. "It beats Moonbeam-atron." He leaned closer. "Do you want to be a Mikayla?"

The baby gurgled once and moved her fist again.

"I think that's a yes." Tifa cooed, lifting the baby's head to her lips. "Welcome to the world, baby girl."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _Yuffie snorted, "Aaand baby's first swear word learned from Uncle Cid."_


	34. Everything is Different

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs, now including Mikayla! Enjoy the chapter.**

**..:-X-:..**

**098 – Meet the Gang**

"Am I doing it right?" Yuffie asked, feeling awkward as she held the new baby. "They always say support the head, but I've never really known what that means."

Sitting on the couch in the living room of her and Leon's house, Tifa chuckled, "You're doing it fine." She beamed and glanced to the others with a wink. "Super Aunt Yuffie, right?"

Yuffie nodded quickly, but it still felt extremely weird holding Mikayla. The baby had done nothing but sleep since she and the others had come by to visit and meet the new member of the Restoration Committee family. The same was said of Leon. Like father, like daughter. Apparently the emotional crash had only just hit him. After a week of running amok, making sure that Tifa and Mikayla were well tended and comfortable, he had finally just toppled over in bed and stayed there. He hadn't made an appearance throughout Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, Cid, Jake, Merlin, Rinoa, and McCallister's comings and goings during the afternoon.

"She's moving." Yuffie squeaked as the baby shifted in her arms. "What do I do? She's…she's moving around." She stiffened, feeling all of their eyes on her. "Help. Alert!"

Cid huffed and reached out. "Aw, Hell, give her here."

Yuffie quickly but carefully let Cid take the squirming bundle from her arms, relieved when she stopped worrying about messing up or dropping her. So far, Aerith, Merlin, McCallister and even Jake had all handled Mikayla like pros, now even Cid seemed to know what he was doing with the baby more than she did. Rinoa ogled at the child from her spot at Cid's elbow.

"Oh, if she isn't the cutest little thing I've ever seen." She gushed. "And she just looks so squishy." She reached out and touched Mikayla's arm. "Hello." She giggled.

"You two did good." Jake smiled to Tifa, leaning over the back of the couch and nudging her shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

Tifa folded her hands over her stomach, which was still a little swollen but much less than before. "Happy. Sore. That donut pillow thing that McCallister gave me is a miracle worker."

From her spot in the kitchen, helping Aerith, McCallister offered a mock salute. Jake smiled at her, but whatever he was going to follow up with was interrupted by Cloud.

"Did Leon really cry?" He asked, wearing a shit-eating grin.

Yuffie lifted her eyes from Mikayla to look at Cloud and then Tifa. "Leon knows how to cry?"

Tifa sighed, "There may have been…a few…tears of joy."

Cloud snorted.

Cid turned to face him, still holding the baby. "I heard he was a fuckin' waterfall."

"Cid!" Aerith snapped at his language.

Yuffie snorted, "Aaand baby's first swear word learned from Uncle Cid."

Tifa chuckled, she'd been wearing the same tired smile the entire time that they'd been here. "I won't lie; it was a sight to behold." She pointed at Cloud though in warning. "Leave him alone about it."

"Nope." Cloud shook his head, folding his arms. "I make no such promise."

Yuffie frowned, hands on her hips. "Please, like you won't fall apart when you have a kid. And lookit that face," She gestured to Mikayla, "nobody could resist that level of cuteness."

"Can I hold her?" Rinoa asked sheepishly.

Yuffie hopped over to stand with Jake behind the couch as Cid transferred Mikayla from his arms to Rinoa's. Rinoa, for her part, let out an inhuman little squeak of awe as she cuddled the baby. Cloud crossed the room to go join Aerith and McCallister in the kitchen.

This was so weird, Yuffie thought. It didn't feel like their group should be old enough or grown up enough to be having kids. Tifa and Leon were frickin' parents now. PARENTS. What memories Yuffie had retained of her own parents always cast them in the light of calm, wise, superhero Mom and Dad who had all the answers and knew everything. She couldn't remember any times when her parents hadn't seemed to have everything together.

Now Tifa and Leon were this kid's Mom and Dad. Tifa could burn macaroni and cheese if she tried to cook it, and frowny-face Leon was, well, LEON. Yuffie glanced at the rest of the group in the living room. It was weird, but a good weird.

"When did we all become adults?" She mused aloud. "Getting married, having kids, buying real houses. Strange." She shook her head.

"Ohmigosh lookit her pretty eyes!" Rinoa squealed as Mikayla finally woke up.

"Do you have any lemons?" Jake asked. "I bet she'd make a funny face if we fed her one."

"Don't be an idiot." Cid cuffed him across the back of the head.

Tifa, the only one who seemed to have heard Yuffie, lifted her shoulders. " 'Adults' is a subjective word, I think."

"Someone's gonna have to teach this kid how to play paintball." Jake said. "Dibs."

Yuffie balked. "You can't call dibs on life lessons! Besides, you lost that title."

"The black panther will rise again!" Jake declared.

Cid groaned, "Will you two shut up. Flying lessons before paintball…and dibs."

**..:-X-:..**

**099 – Baby Steps**

"What are you two doing in here?" Cloud asked, popping into the kitchen of Leon and Tifa's house, where Aerith and McCallister had holed up. "Center of attention is out there."

Aerith shrugged lightly, "Just trying to help out. Besides, I think Mikayla is getting plenty of attention."

Cloud leaned back, glancing into the living room, where Rinoa was rocking on her heels with the baby in her arms, while Yuffie and Jake hovered beside her and Cid talked to a beaming Tifa, and nodded, "Looks like it."

He leaned back into the kitchen, standing beside the counter as Aerith flitted about, rummaging and arranging things in the cabinets and drawers as though this was her own house. For the past week, it practically had been. She had stayed for the evening and through the night after Mikayla had been born. Tifa had been understandably exhausted and Leon had been in a daze; Aerith was the only one with her faculties completely about her for about 24 hours after that. She had called Cloud a few times as she stayed there for a few days, mostly for groceries or some other supplies that she needed. Tifa looked to have leveled out and relaxed since Cloud had last seen her, but he hadn't seen Leon since he bolted out of the garage last week.

This was Aerith in her element, Cloud mused inwardly. For all her talk about wanting to contribute 'real stuff' to the Alliance and the Restoration Committee, she was providing more than enough at the moment. She was taking initiative and doing things where Cloud knew he and the others would hesitate at first. And she looked happy. She was cutting tomatoes and organizing the contents of the fridge and doing laundry: and she looked happier doing all of that than she ever had when he'd seen her doing her research on the undercurrent. It wasn't that she liked doing those things; she found joy in helping people, in whatever form that help took.

As opposed to Private McCallister behind her, who looked confused at the cooking instrument that Aerith had handed her.

"It's a potato peeler." Aerith explained.

Cloud pursed his lips and looked into the living room again. Tifa had taken her daughter back, and little Mikayla was making unhappy noises at changing hands so many times.

Jake snorted as the baby started whimpering. "She's thinking 'you have disturbed my slumber, peasants!' You can see it in her eyes."

Cloud's gaze lingered on Tifa and Mikayla. He lifted a hand and rubbed idly at the healing burn on his jaw, glancing toward the stairs and then back to Aerith. "Do you like living with Rinoa?"

Aerith slowed in her drying of clean dishes. "Yes." She looked at him with a quizzically raised eyebrow. "Why? Did she say something to you? Because I told her I would replace that pillow that Piper destroyed."

"No. No, no." Cloud mumbled, folding his arms over his chest. "I was just…asking." Feeling suddenly awkward, he shifted from one foot to the other. "Piper's still a pest, huh?"

"He's not a pest. He's just…fickle about who he likes." Aerith tutted.

McCallister covered up a snort by putting the potato peeler away.

"He happens to have a very short list of people that he likes." Aerith defended.

McCallister lifted her hands in surrender, moving past Cloud to get at a hand towel.

Aerith set the dish down. "He likes me—because I feed him. He's starting to tolerate Rinoa…And he doesn't mind you, Cloud."

Cloud swallowed, "Um, yeah. We get along…I mean, I don't mind him. I could get used to having a cat around." Uncomfortably, he unfolded his arms, paused, and immediately folded them again. "I mean, I guess, I'd like…seeing him around…more."

Aerith faced him, head tilted and one eye squinting. "Are you looking to adopt a cat?"

"No." Cloud grumbled. "I'm just saying…I could…" He rolled one shoulder to try to work out the tension building up there. It didn't work. "Rinoa doesn't like the cat; I…do."

Aerith's one eye remained squinted. One of her eyebrows raised in confusion. McCallister looked between them, puzzled and awkward.

Jake called from the living room. "Tabaeus, could you—"

"Yes!" McCallister immediately bolted from the situation in the kitchen before Jake could finish his request.

"You…want to be friends with my cat." Aerith said slowly, deadpan.

Cloud looked at her flatly. "I want…" He ground his molars and glared at the sink.

He wanted to just spit it out. Hell, Leon and Tifa had just created a PERSON, Cloud should be able to ask the woman he loved if she wanted to move in with him. But it was so…messy. Between his lukewarm feelings towards her research and her prickly disapproval of his 'time travel stories,' this could get awkward really fast. Shit, it was already awkward and he hadn't even asked her the damned question!

Aerith looked concerned. "Two people in our group just had a baby." She stated plainly. "It's…jarring to think about." She tilted her head. "Kinda makes you think about things, doesn't it? Everything is going to be different from now on. For all of us."

She was letting him off the hook, deciding not to pry and make him spit it out.

For the first time, Cloud wished that she would have made him spit it out. "Yeah."

**..:-X-:..**

**100 – Strange Villages**

There was something so disorienting about waking up when it was dark outside. Leon staggered out of the bedroom and, hearing voices downstairs, went to investigate. He had told Tifa that he was just going to lie down for an hour or two to get his wind back, but that had been at 2 pm. It was clearly much later than that now.

The front door closed as he reached the bottom step, turning by default into the living room and finding no one there. Absently, he turned back around and walked into the kitchen. There, he spotted Tifa and Jake talking, with Mikayla snoozing in the baby carrier on the table. Tifa saw him first, grinning as she set down the glass she was drinking from.

"Oh look, he lives." She stated, standing by the counter.

"Barely." Jake added, giving Leon's rough appearance a once-over.

Leon blinked, ran a hand across his eyes, and looked at the dark windows. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock." Tifa replied with a smirk. "You missed everybody. They just left."

"Everybody." Leon repeated, slumping down into one of the kitchen chairs beside the baby carrier.

"Merlin came by right after you went down." Tifa said. "Not long after he left, the rest of the gang showed up: Yuffie, Cloud, Cid, McCallister, this guy." She pointed her thumb toward Jake. "Aerith was still here. I finally convinced her to go home and get some real sleep in her own bed."

"We were here all afternoon, dude." Jake said. "You sleep like the dead."

Leon gave him a flat look and then looked to Mikayla, resisting the urge to touch the sleeping baby and incur her infant wrath. "Sorry. Didn't mean to."

"You needed it." Tifa affirmed, walking over to him and ruffling his hair with one hand.

"So they left?" Leon let her do her ruffling, he doubted his hair was any kind of composed anyway.

"Yup." Jake answered. "Tabs had to head up some paperwork. Yuffie had patrols. Cid got a perimeter call. Aerith got really twitchy all of a sudden and went home. Cloud left just as you came downstairs…also twitchy all of a sudden."

Leon snorted and poked Mikayla's foot. "Did you meet everybody?"

Tifa chuckled. "And was held by everybody, and was squealed at by everybody, and was doted on by everybody…You know what they say: it takes a village to raise a child."

Leon rubbed his neck and sat back, opening his eyes wide briefly to clear them. "Strange village."

"Oh, and apparently Cid has called dibs on teaching our daughter how to fly, and Yuffie has dibs on teaching her paintball." Tifa noted.

"Pending dibs." Jake clarified, pointing at Tifa. "We've got a few years for me to re-take my honor and drop-kick her off the Number One pedestal."

Leon straightened, "Shouldn't we get first dibs on everything?" He gestured between himself and Tifa.

Tifa narrowed one eye at him. "I'm giving Cloud dibs on teaching her mechanics."

Leon scoffed and started a comeback, but Mikayla abruptly sneezed herself awake, opening her eyes wide in surprise as both arms flew up with the motion. All three adults looked at her. The infant's face bunched up a little in dislike, but her features soon smoothed out as she looked around at them all.

"Bless you." Jake chirped, glancing at his watch. "I need to get going."

"Okay." Tifa gave him a short wave. "Thanks for coming by."

As Jake left, Mikayla squirmed and kicked her feet, making a restless noise.

"Hey." Leon reached over, stroking the back of his index finger down her cheek.

She squinted the eye nearest his touch and kept squirming.

"She was so good today." Tifa remarked. "She was like the group's hot potato. First Merlin and then Yuffie and then Cid and then Rinoa—She only started really fussing when Cloud was holding her."

Leon snickered, lifting his daughter out of the carrier. "That's my girl." He held her up at eye level. "Take no prisoners." He pressed his lips to her cheek before looking to Tifa. "Just the three of us tonight?"

"Yeah." Tifa straightened slightly as she thought about that. "Yeah. First time with just the three of us in the house."

"Maybe we could have a wild dance party." He said, rocking side to side with Mikayla against his chest.

Tifa snorted. "You should go back to bed…And your hair is looking fab." She reached over, ruffling his head again.

Leon saw her fight a yawn and he immediately had to fight his own. "Rain check on the dance party then." He concluded. Even though he'd just gotten up, the idea of being horizontal again was awfully tempting.

"You get dibs on teaching her how to dance." Tifa smirked as she went upstairs.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** I'll try to keep the fluff level below asphyxiation, but when Mikayla is in the chapter, I make no promises. She pretty much has the entire Restoration Committee wrapped around her finger from the start. That being said, this story arc will definitely involve the flipside of parenthood that is less adorable. Leon and Tifa will have their hands full.

**Preview for next week:** _"It's like people are trying to stay away from me to avoid incurring her wrath."_


	35. Sugar and Spice

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are the OCs. Duke makes a comeback in this chapter! I've missed writing her in this thing; hopefully she'll poke her nose in more often for the remaining chapters of this story. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**101 – Cats and Dogs**

Duke the golden retriever was everywhere at once. As soon as she and Tifa had hit the park, the dog was bolting after squirrels, barking at water fountains, and romping around with a group of squealing children. Tifa let her go leash-free and continued her walk around the park. Duke was impervious to discipline in the park and rarely obeyed anyone but Leon. Given that Leon was at home with Mikayla so that Tifa could go for this walk, getting the dog back under control was going to be interesting.

For now, though, Tifa tried to enjoy the sun on her shoulders and the breeze in her hair. She could smell the grass and hear the birds chirping. Her body hadn't punished her this morning for the first time in a long time, and she was going to take advantage of that with a walk. It would have been relaxing, had her mind gone with her for the walk instead of barricading itself in Mikayla's nursery.

As it was, being in the park with Duke felt pretty pointless, considering that all of her thoughts were latched onto the baby. What if she got hungry? Was she crying right now? Was she okay? Was she comfortable? Did she need anything? How could Tifa be so selfish to be outside, watching Duke cavorting with kids, when her own child was at home needing her mother? Tifa stood in the shade of a nearby tree, arms folded as she mindlessly stared at a pigeon…only for Duke to lose her mind chasing after the pigeon, barking at the pigeon's insolence.

"She's outside in the daylight." Cloud hailed her, walking over to her out of nowhere.

Tifa blinked at him, "Just putting to rest those rumors that I'm a vampire."

He eyeballed the tired circles under her eyes. "That's still up for debate." He snorted.

It was then that Tifa noticed that he was holding Aerith's grey cat Piper.

"Is that Piper?" Tifa remarked. "I've never seen him without all the hair on his back standing up and his ears folded back. He looks cute when he's not hissing at people."

Cloud glanced down at the cat that he was holding with one arm. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm…cat-sitting." He grimaced at the word and looked at her flatly, "Aerith had some research to do and Rinoa hates him."

"Aaand…he can't possibly be alone for a morning?" Tifa lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm…I'm trying to be the good boyfriend here." Cloud looked flustered.

Tifa snickered. "Not bad, not bad." She rubbed her temple, "I need to go home."

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

"Ten minutes…but a lot can happen in ten minutes." Tifa looked at him. "Mikayla might need a diaper change…or she might be uncomfortable. What if—"

"Leon can handle it." Cloud remarked.

He suddenly looked awkward, and Tifa narrowed one eye. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to ask Aerith to move in with me." He blurted.

Duke barked abruptly, and Piper hissed, clawing his way out of Cloud's grip and chasing after the dog. Duke barked again, tail wagging, but her tail immediately dropped and she bounced away from the cat. Piper tore after her, and Duke turned and ran off, though she looked unsure as to where she was being played with or attacked.

"Oh." Tifa blinked, unfolding her arms. "That's…wow." When Cloud winced, she lifted a hand, "Good wow…just…unexpected. Don't get me wrong, but you two have been…moving at a glacial pace. What brought this on?"

Cloud looked at her sideways, the gaze heavy with implication.

"No." Tifa pointed at him. "You do not get to say that the birth of my daughter triggered your insecurity issues."

He lifted his hands, "I'm not. I'm just saying that…I wasn't considering asking her until I saw…Mikayla…And you with Mikayla. And Leon with Mikayla. And you three being all—" He vaguely waved his hands around in front of him. "Family-ish."

"Ish?" Tifa raised an eyebrow but then dropped it again. "Cloud, you can't benchmark your relationship with Aerith against my marriage. Leon and I can't be the yardstick that you measure against to see if you're ready for those kinds of steps. Do you want to take that step?"

Cloud frowned, "I…yes, but—"

"Ah!" Tifa cut him off. " 'Yes, but' is a punk's way of saying no. Why?"

"Since when do you say 'punk'? Stop it; that was weird." Cloud evaded her.

Tifa glared playfully at him. "Do what you want, but make sure it's what you want. Figure out what the 'but' is and talk to Aerith about it." Watching Duke strategically placing herself on the opposite side of a park bench from Piper as a defense, she sighed. "I'm going to ask you a question, and I will judge you less if you answer honestly: are you trying to 'walk' Aerith's cat?"

"…Yes."

"You're an idiot."

"You said you'd judge less."

"You don't want to know what 'you're an idiot' is less than." Tifa remarked. "Now, please go catch Duke for me. I haven't worked my way back up to running."

Cloud scoffed but stepped away from her to go corral the dog.

Tifa exhaled tiredly and ran a hand through her hair. "Thanks."

**..:-X-:..**

**102 – A New Hope**

"You need to take this seriously…I want you to be prepared for what is about to happen over the next two hours…" Leon said poignantly.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter on his elbows, looking meaningfully to his two week old daughter as she sat in her baby carrier. Mikayla looked back at him with mild interest, before her gaze was back up at the ceiling fan. She wiggled her feet at him.

"I'm going to take that as a 'yes, I am prepared.' Which means we," He reached out, lifting her up out of the carrier. "can begin."

Mikayla squirmed as Leon carried her into the living room.

"Mommy is going to tell you that this movie is silly, and that Daddy—that's me, remember—is silly for liking it." He stated, sitting back into the ugly old sectional couch in front of the television. "But she secretly enjoys it too. Don't tell her I told you…Our little secret."

He situated Mikayla in one arm carefully and propped his feet up on the coffee table. The DVD main menu page was already up on the screen, and he plucked up the remote with his other hand. He aimed it at the television and hit the play button, tossing the remote back onto the couch as the movie started.

The screen darkened and the title card began to play.

"Rule one: this is the correct order." Leon said, pointing at the screen. "Ignore the whole 'episode four' thing. This was the first, the precedent setter, and the original. Five and six follow as worthy sequels."

Mikayla hiccupped and raised her fists up to her face, waving them.

"What about one, two, and three?" Leon worded her wordless question. "We don't talk about those: rule two."

The infant squinted her eyes and fussed once, making a humming noise in her throat before casting her eyes toward the lamp on the end table. Leon smirked at her and took one of her fists between his thumb and index finger.

"Rule three: be wary of re-releases." He said, playing with her fist. "They try to change things and sneak weird additions under the radar every time, but we always notice." He tapped her chest lightly to make his point. "Han shot first, Jabba doesn't show up until Return of the Jedi, and no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to mimic the sound of a TIE fighter without someone laughing at you."

She shifted against his arm, and Leon adjusted his elbow to make sure she was comfortable as the opening crawl made its way across the screen, followed by a pan down to the opening scene. It had barely started when Leon's cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

With an irritated huff, Leon tugged it out, glanced at the caller ID, and answered it briefly. "Jake, I'm having a cultural experience with my daughter. This is no time for—"

"Uh…is this Leon?" That wasn't Jake.

He narrowed one eye. "Who is this?"

"This is Trevor. I just found this cellphone. Wasn't sure whose it was so I just called a random contact." The person on the line said.

Leon sighed. "Yeah, you found Jake Alms's phone. Do you know him?"

"Um…not enough to recognize him on sight."

Leon pursed his lips, glanced down at Mikayla and rolled his eyes. She just looked back up at him, her hand finding some loose material on his shirt and holding it there.

"Okay, where are you now?"

"I'm just outside the Alliance HQ building."

"His girlfriend works in that building. Let me call her and she'll find you." He said.

"All right, thanks."

Leon hung up and hit the speed dial for McCallister. "Just a second, munchkin." He apologized to Mikayla.

"Yes, sir?" Was McCallister's greeting on the second ring.

"Some guy found Jake's phone. He said he's outside headquarters. Are you there?"

"Where else would I be on a Tuesday morning?" She replied dryly.

"Just…whatever." He responded.

On the television screen, the signature sounds of the lasers blasting from the imperial cruisers to the rebel ships boomed through the living room. Far from being startled by the sound, Mikayla merely moved her attention from Leon's shirt in her hand to the movie.

"Are you watching Star Wars?" McCallister sounded deadpan.

"I'm inducting Mikayla." He stated plainly, smiling down at the baby.

"Mrph." The soldier snorted and hung up.

Leon set his phone down and returned to the more important matter at hand.

"Here we go." He murmured.

Mikayla wound up ignoring the film for the most part, and every little noise and movement distracted Leon from it—seeing as he had already watched it several times. In the end, Mikayla fell asleep in the crook of his arm, and Leon turned down the volume and watched her sleep. Her hand was twisted around his shirt again. The Force was strong with this one.

**..:-X-:..**

**103 – Mistakes Made**

Jake had his back to the front door of the animal shelter, sorting through the mail, when he heard the bell ring above the door. He kept his eyes on the mail in his hands as he spun around to face the person. "Good aftern—"

"Hello, Mr. Tour Guide." Mindy Tallman smiled as the door swung closed softly behind her. "Widow Harker told me I'd find you here."

Jake halted. "Oh, yeah…I…work here." He said, somewhat awkwardly. "Wh-what," He cleared his throat, "Why'd you hunt me down?"

The petite blond seemed to glide over to the counter, her gait bouncy but her expression drawn. "I'm…I need some help."

"You've been here for a while now, you should know you're way around." Jake said in a playful tone, but he set the mail aside. "What's up?"

"It's…Maybe it's just because I'm kinda new and don't know many people," Mindy said sheepishly. "but I feel like the people I talk to are…avoiding me. Like you," She tilted her head, "I had a great time with your little tour that you gave me, but you disappeared afterward and I hadn't seen you since until now."

"I don't avoid people." Jake shrugged. "I've been busy. Y'know, working here, oddjobs for the Alliance, some friends of mine just had a baby, so that's been—"

"My best friend hates me." Mindy interrupted, as though it was going to burst out of her if she didn't say it soon. "I mean…we used to be best friends. Okay, not really. We were kinda sorta friends…We knew each other…We were civil…But I screwed things up and now she hates me." She exhaled, running a hand through her curly hair.

Jake blinked. "I'm…sorry?"

"It's Tabby—Tabaeus McCallister." Mindy explained. "She hates me, and I think everybody here knows it. It's like people are trying to stay away from me to avoid incurring her wrath. She has some clout around here, doesn't she?"

Jake canted his head. "I'm not sure about 'clout,' but people are more wary of her superior officer's wrath."

"Commander Leonhart? Are they a thing?" Mindy narrowed one eye.

"No!" Jake choked on a laugh. "No, holy crap—No. He's half of the couple that just had a kid. Tabs and Leon are comrades, but that's all."

"Okay, I was wondering…He seems a little…okay, he's WAY out of her league." Mindy snickered and Jake frowned at that. She swallowed. "Listen, word around says you and Tabby are buds."

"Actually, we're—"

"And she'd never tell anyone why she hates me. I'd never tell anyone. Not after—" She pursed her lips, glanced down at the counter top between them, and then looked back up. "She trusted me a long time ago and I let her down. She doesn't forgive easily. I just want to make things right, but she won't even look at me."

Jake felt uncomfortable. "Well, I mean…Sure, she doesn't forgive easily, but if you're sincere, she'll see that. She's not heartless."

"No, but you have to admit that she's rough around the edges." Mindy stated. "Blunt, stubborn, and she never asks for help or lets you help even when you KNOW that she NEEDS it." She fumed slightly.

Jake was quiet.

Mindy calmed and looked at him. "Sorry. I guess I don't forgive easily either." She sighed and looked at him again, tilting her head slightly. "But I'm not rough around the edges."

She wasn't wrong. For a presumed soldier, Jake hardly saw any muscle tone on her, nor any callouses on her hands from handling weapons, like Tabaeus's hands had. Mindy's skin looked soft and tanned, not too dark but enough to tell you she had seen a good beach in her day. As soon as that thought registered, Jake abruptly went to start sorting the mail again.

"She's usually at the gun range this time of day." He deflected.

"Oh, because I need to be around her when she's carrying a loaded gun." Mindy chuckled, her laugh rich and throaty. "Jake—" She said after a moment, voice low and sultry.

"Hm?" Jake half turned, trying to give her the clue that he wasn't interested.

Mindy was having none of that and she reached out, grasping his shoulder. "Thank you for not being a jerk. Everybody else around here seems to be."

"Nah, they're great people. They're just—"

He was cut off as Mindy abruptly leaned in and pressed her lips against his. It was a moist, heavy kiss, and it tasted like her strawberry lipstick.

The bell above the door chimed again.

Mindy slid back, detaching her lips from Jake's, leaving him standing there dumbly. Then horror set in. He lifted the back of his hand to his lips. What had she just done?

The air seemed to shift in the office, and Jake turned to see that the newcomer was Tabaeus herself. She was holding his phone in one hand; she must have dropped by to return it after he'd left it behind somewhere. Her expression was wooden.

"Tabaeus—" Jake stepped around the counter. "This isn't—Let me—"

Without a word, Tabaeus turned and left the building, the bell chiming after her.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **In a few of my other stories, Leon has had tendencies toward being a Trekkie and a Star Wars fan. This is just adding another brick to the igloo.

**Preview for next week:** _"I don't want you in my life; I made that mistake once."_


	36. The Art of Control

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. This chapter got eventful, I must admit, as far as related to later chapters/stories goes. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**104 – At First Sight**

_3:44 am_

Mikayla was crying. Right on schedule. Tifa had developed a routine check system every time the infant cried, and almost every time, she never located the reason for the tears. Mikayla wasn't hungry, she didn't need changing, she didn't need burping, she wasn't hurt or sick or in any kind of discomfort that Tifa could figure out. For some reason, the baby just wanted to cry.

No, this wasn't crying. This was screaming. This was shrieking and wailing, and the first few nights it happened, either Tifa or Leon would spring out of bed like a rocket and rush to the baby's aid. After three weeks, however, their reaction times had gone from spring to trudge.

"Shh. Shh. Shh." Tifa repeated methodically, holding the baby at her chest as she slowly rocked on her heels, meandering around the nursery room.

Mikayla refused to be comforted and hiccupped as she continued to cry. Tifa winced, rubbing her back in gentle circles. Every cry was a stab to her heart, and it was made worse by the fact that she had no idea what was upsetting her daughter so much.

"Momma's here." She cooed. "Shh. Momma's here, baby. It's okay."

At a loss, Tifa started humming lightly as she meandered around the nursery, eventually finding herself near the door. Out of ideas, she carried Mikayla out of the nursery and into the hallway. The door to Tifa and Leon's bedroom was ajar from when she had come to Mikayla, and through the sliver, she could see that Leon hadn't moved from where she'd left him. He'd recently returned to his duties for the Alliance. From what she'd heard, Private McCallister had run a tight ship while he was out, but the same couldn't be said for Tifa's department.

Apparently anarchy had set in after the person that Tifa appointed to run things while she was maternity leave was injured. Her second string had had a death in the family. Her third string had been abruptly sent to Deep Jungle to oversee a summer campaign. Her fourth and fifth strings had forgotten which of them was fourth and fifth, and it had culminated in a mess. For the time being, Cloud had stepped up to co-run the department with McCallister, who for some reason had thrown herself into her work for the past week.

Leon had come home that night after 18 straight hours of getting caught up and dealing with the avalanche that had become Tifa's department. He would probably still be there if Cloud hadn't physically removed him from the building. As it was, though Leon was normally an irrationally light sleeper, he slept like the dead on this particular night.

Tifa snorted and made her way downstairs, Mikayla in tow. It was a clear night, so the moonlight spilling through the windows was enough for Tifa to see her way around. She continued to hum as Mikayla continued to cry, and she tried to incorporate a few timed bounces on her feet with the notes of the song.

She wandered aimlessly around the first floor of the house, around the living room, through the kitchen, around the dining room, around the study, and then absently through the den before winding up by the enclosed back porch.

"Whatcha cryin' for, hm?" She cooed. "Whatever it is can't be that bad."

She slowed, glancing out onto the back porch, which was cut accessible from the house from a screen door, with glass windows lining the connected wall. Duke had been more or less stationed there since Mikayla had been born. The dog had, after keening and clawing in frustration at her exile from the house, eventually succumbed to her restricted sleeping space and was curled up on her dog pillow under the patio table.

Mikayla's crying had roused Duke, and she lifted her head from her paws curiously. Tifa smiled with a wink at her as she continued to hum to the baby, rocking from side to side by the door. Duke's tail swished once and her ears quirked up.

"That's right," Tifa mused softly. "You two haven't been properly introduced yet."

Duke licked her nose and yawned, climbing laboriously out of her curled up position.

"I'm sure you've been hearing her every night." Tifa chirped to the dog. "Sorry you've been cooped up out here, girl, but she's not ready to play with you yet."

Duke stood on her feet, stretching and shaking herself before wagging her tail, eyes glued to Tifa and that strange, noise-making bundle that she was holding. Tifa snickered and turned her eyes to Mikayla, who had lapsed into whimpering and gurgling unhappily.

"This is Mikayla." Tifa stated. "You're going to be seeing a lot of her from now on."

Mikayla's face was red from crying, and Tifa's shoulder was wet from the tears, but Mikayla's blue eyes were open wide as the fit tapered off, and she looked off to the side with a whimper. Tifa pressed her lips to the top of the baby's head.

"There we go." She whispered. "See? Nothing to cry about. I was just telling Duke how much you two are going to see each other." She chuckled, turning her body sideways so that the dog was in Mikayla's line of sight. "That's Duke. She's going to be one of your best friends. Isn't that right, Duke?"

The dog's tail wagged at her name, and she inched toward the screen door, touching her nose to it and backing a few steps away with a canine grin. Tifa smiled tiredly and slowly knelt down so that they were almost at eye level. Mikayla squirmed and made a vague noise. Tifa rubbed her back again, and Duke sniffed, approaching the screen again and snorting before wagging her tail and lowering to her belly on the floor, looking up at them.

"That's what I thought." Tifa said lightly. "You're just going to have be patient a little longer, until we all get a little more used to having a baby around, okay?"

Duke's tail stilled and her ears drooped, as if to say: fine, I don't like waiting, but okay.

**..:-X-:..**

**105 – Control Issues**

"I'm not going to leave you alone until you show me." Yuffie pestered, following Aerith around the Marketplace. "You've shown Cloud and Cid and Jake—"

"I never showed Jake my research." Aerith corrected.

"Well…then he watched while you weren't looking. You haven't exactly been hiding when you're conducting these experiments." Yuffie countered. "C'mon, I wanna see you summon the Heart of Radiant Garden and bend it to your will!" She made a righteous fist.

Aerith regarded her with a flat look. "No."

"Whhhhy?" Yuffie whined, trailing after her.

"This is serious, Yuffie. I'm not playing around. I'm trying to develop new ways to fight the darkness and protect Radiant Garden." Aerith pointed out. "It's not 'fun' or 'hip' or 'awesome.' It's very dangerous and not to made light of."

Yuffie snorted. "You grew a tree with your mind. That's pretty awesome."

When she noted Aerith's unamused expression, Yuffie sobered but continued to follow her. She had seen some of her friend's research when she helped Aerith move into Rinoa's apartment. It had been mostly notebooks full of scribbles and math equations…a big fat slice of BO-RING…but recently she had been hearing and seeing the results of these experiments and they sounded far from boring. Growing trees and flowers out of nothing, breaking apart rocks and digging aqueducts with your mind? That was straight up Jedi.

Besides, it wasn't like she was asking Aerith to teach her or anything. Aerith had a pretty sharp learning curve when it came to magic and stuff like that, and if it had taken Aerith this long just to get the general hang of this 'heart' stuff, then it would probably take Yuffie nearly a year. That was a lot of time and not a lot of satisfying results. Yuffie was a pretty quick learner in basic magic, but Merlin had attempted to teach her some more advanced spells once. Once.

It wasn't her fault that the incantation had a weird pronounciation, and therefore not her fault that his favorite drapes had caught fire. Magic was stupid anyway.

That didn't mean she couldn't think it looked wicked awesome when someone else did it. Her strengths were just better applied elsewhere.

"Please?" Yuffie pleaded, as the two women left the Marketplace and began walking toward the residential district.

"First of all." Aerith lifted a hand as they walked. "I don't 'summon' anything. I request cooperation. Sort of like…I knock on the door and the light answers. Secondly, I do not 'bend' it to my will. That is insulting to the Heart of Radiant Garden. To think that one person could simply dredge up and control something as massive and powerful as an entire world's heart is just arrogant." She huffed. "And thirdly…I'm tired, Yuffie."

The ninja could hear it in her voice, but she pressed on. "Then just a small demonstration."

"Even the smallest…demonstration…takes a lot of energy, Yuffie. I can't just up and do it whenever I feel like it. I time out my experiment sessions very carefully so that I don't overexert myself."

"Lame." Yuffie stuck her tongue out and promptly darted in front of Aerith, cutting her off. "C'mon. There's no one around. No one'll see. You obviously have some crazy good self control. Cloud probably told you it was dangerous, and Cid probably thought it was just another fancy magic trick. I," She dramatically gestured to herself. "can appreciate this. I can give you some real positive feedback."

"Yuffie—" Aerith tried to move around her. Yuffie hopped sideways, blocking her.

"Yuffie, please move—" Aerith tried to move to the other side, but Yuffie blocked her again. "This is really childish…Would you just…Yuffie—"

Yuffie continued to bounce side to side, preventing her from walking away. "Show me!"

Aerith let out an exasperated noise, stomped one foot, snapped her right hand up from her side, and exhaled sharply. With that abrupt motion set, the air around them both electrified and Yuffie felt every hair on her body stand up. Something—she couldn't initially describe it—crawled up around her ankles and similarly wrapped around her elbows. It felt warm but cool at the same time, like smoke was enveloping her. A smoky rope.

The wind left her lungs as she suddenly left her feet. Then she was being jolted sideways, not violently, but surprisingly all the same. In the span of a split second, her back touched the wall of the building a few feet away, and she gasped, looking wildly to Aerith.

The woman looked completely calm, her expression waxen and her eyes almost blank. Something uncomfortable twisted through Yuffie's insides, but it just as abruptly ended as the smoky ropes around her ankles and elbows vanished. Yuffie yelped as she dropped from the three inch height that she'd been hovering. She staggered, regained her balance, and looked to Aerith with wide eyes.

"Holy crap!" She squealed in delight. "That was amazing!"

Aerith blinked, expression returning to her face. "That wasn't—"

"That was a SMALL demonstration?!" Yuffie whooped. "Then remind me not to piss you off, because I don't even know what would be considered big!"

Aerith awkwardly laughed her off, but as Yuffie turned and bounced away cackling, she looked down at her palm, disconcerted.

**..:-X-:..**

**106 – Breaking Point**

"Tabaeus." Mindy Tallman's voice reached across the Borough.

Tabaeus pointedly avoided looking at the woman. For the past week, she had managed to avoid this situation. She didn't trust her words, she didn't trust her actions: she knew she needed to confront this, but not now. Not at the moment. And certainly not in the middle of town. Was this what her social life amounted to: public arguments about relationship crap?

"Tabaeus, I didn't know that Jake was your boyfriend." Mindy was closing the distance between them. "Please, Tabaeus, I just want to have a conversation with you like adults."

"Adults." Tabaeus snapped her heels together and spun to face Mindy Tallman, her ex-friend, ex-confidante, and soon to be ex-living if Tabaeus couldn't control herself. "Fine. Why are you in Radiant Garden?"

"I joined the Alliance—"

"Then join it back home." Tabaeus made a vague gesture.

Mindy tensed, "I…I'm sorry. I wanted to apologize. Not just for this, but for what happened six years ago. I've wanted to apologize for years, but you never let me."

"And why do you think that is?" Passersby were slowing at her raised voice, but Tabaeus couldn't register that at the moment. "I don't want you in my life; I made that mistake once."

Mindy looked hurt. Good.

"What's going on?" Aerith chimed in, stepping out of Merlin's house with Commander Leonhart right behind her, both looking perplexed at Tabaeus's behavior.

"Please, I know I made a mistake. I broke your trust—" Mindy started.

"Broke…You still have no idea what you did, do you?" Tabaeus snarled, heat rolling under her skin in waves of rage. "Years ago, I asked ONE THING of you. I didn't ask for munny, I didn't ask for help, I didn't ask for your loyalty or your friendship or your sympathy. I asked for your discretion, and you fucked it in the eye."

"Whoa." Jake appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, raising his hands.

Because that was the luck of Tabaeus McCallister.

"Not now, Jake." She hissed.

"Tabs, I NEVER meant to—" He started.

"I hit on him." Mindy tried to defend him. "Hell, I threw myself at him," She looked embarrassed. "I didn't know he had a girlfriend, much less that it was you. This isn't his fault."

Tabaeus lifted a hand to either side of her face, overwhelmed, before lowering them again. "You—Leave, Jake." She barked. "I can't—I can't do this right now."

"No." Jake stepped forward, "I'm not giving up on us."

"I was fine." Tabaeus looked at him, face stoic, but her eyes were wide and accusatory. "I was perfectly content to be alone. I was comfortable and I was happy. You took that from me. You took away my numbness, and you made me feel—" She cut herself off, feeling emotion creeping up into her throat. She shoved it down. "And then this."

"You want numbness?" Mindy interjected. "I guess that's just you all over the place, isn't it? You're a ROBOT, Tabaeus. You couldn't handle emotions back then, and I see that it hasn't changed now. I'm starting to think James got the better end of that deal."

Tabaeus saw red.

The next thing she knew, she had tackled Mindy Tallman to the cobblestone floor of the Borough, slammed the woman onto her back, and was punching every inch of her that she could reach. Mindy cried out and tried to defend herself, but her basic training had no standing against Tabaeus's four years under Commander Leonhart.

Almost immediately, Leonhart was there. Tabaeus's red painted mind registered his arms around her stomach, hauling her off Mindy's bleeding face and dragging her away.

"Easy, soldier." He was saying, putting her on her feet and holding her there.

Tabaeus locked her knees and held onto the arms around her waist, both trying to hold herself back and throw herself forward at the same time. "I hope you ROT IN HELL!" She screamed at Mindy, and her voice echoed across the small zone.

More people were staring, and hot tears bubbled up and broke free from her eyes. She deflated, realizing just how many people were staring. She paused in her superior officer's arms, glancing around in horror before her eyes landed on Jake. He looked pained.

Tabaeus drew a breath and straightened, bloodshot eyes narrowed. "And you can join her." With that, she brushed Commander Leonhart's arms away from her and stiffly but quickly left the Borough. Humiliation and horror swam through her stomach, making her nauseated.

As she made her exit, Leon watched her go, and then looked pointedly at the onlookers.

"All right, move along, people." He saw Aerith kneeling over Mindy, whose nose was clearly broken and her mouth was bleeding. "Will she be okay?"

Aerith nodded, and Jake started to run toward Leon, to go after McCallister.

Leon deftly sidestepped, physically blocking him. "Leave her alone right now."

"I have to explain," Jake choked, "I have to apologize. She has to hear me out—"

"She 'has to' do nothing." Leon narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Stay away from her."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"I accidentally put energy drink in the coffee this morning…I can see sounds."_


	37. Safe Spaces

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. This chapter is a little more mellow, a preemptive cool down for the more action-packed chapter coming up. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**107 – Really Bad Day**

The light drizzle had evolved into a full downpour by the time Rinoa ducked in through the back door of Merlin's house. There was no way that she was sprinting across town to her apartment in this mess. She shook herself slightly of the rain and peeled off her jacket, hanging it up on the rack before registering the scene in front of her.

Aerith and Tifa were both slouched in the patched up furniture in the back den of Merlin's house. If their postures were any indication, it had been a rough day. Aerith had a can of whipped cream in her hand and a box of chocolate in her lap. Tifa had dark circles under her eyes and was halfheartedly munching on the remains of a pizza crust. Half of a pizza was sitting in the delivery box on the coffee table. Aerith looked up when Rinoa walked in.

"Oh, is it," Aerith hiccupped, sounding on the verge of tears. "still raining?"

Rinoa stood there uncomfortably. "Um," She looked at her soaked appearance. "Yes." She glanced from Aerith, to Tifa, and back to Aerith. "Are you two okay?"

Aerith's face crumpled. "I'm a monster." She doubled over, dramatically dropping her face against her knees.

Rinoa squeaked and looked to Tifa. "What is wrong with her? And you?"

Tifa lazily pointed at Aerith. "Existential crisis." Then she pointed at herself. "Sleep deprived bordering on hallucination." She swiveled her head on the couch to look up at Rinoa. "What sucks in life for you? Pull up a seat. We're commiserating."

Rinoa fidgeted. "Um…not—not much. I'm…I'm okay."

"Bull SHIT." Tifa announced, slapping the couch next to her. "Aerith almost killed somebody, and I feel like a blimp." She gestured to the unshed pregnancy weight around her middle. "I can count the hours of sleep I've had this week on one hand."

Rinoa grimaced, awkwardly perching herself on the edge of the couch. "You just had a baby less than a month ago. And…" She looked to Aerith, "You almost killed someone?"

Aerith hiccupped and sat up, "Yuffie was pestering me about my research and I got angry. I—I—I think I used it on her."

Rinoa's eyebrows shot up. "You used…your heart summoning powers on her?"

"They're not summoning powers and Ididn't-meantoItwasanaccident-andnowIwanttodie." Aerith babbled before abruptly tilting her head back, aiming the nozzle of the can at herself, and unleashing a mound of whipped cream into her mouth.

Tifa chuckled and suddenly snorted. "Everything you say sounds like we're underwater." She rubbed her eyes. "I accidentally put energy drink in the coffee this morning…I can see sounds."

Aerith briefly chewed and swallowed the whipped cream. "We've had a pretty rough week, Rinoa." She sniffed, "I think we all have." Then, with a comedic amount of sincerity, she asked, "How are you?"

Rinoa started to respond with the default 'fine,' but suddenly found her chest constricted and a burning sensation across her nose and eyes. "I'm still unemployed and I have zero investors interested in helping me start my own business." She buckled, breaking in front of them. "It's so hard, and I just feel stupid and naïve for thinking I could do this on my own."

"No!" Aerith set her comfort food aside. "You want to open a bakery, I believe that you can open a bakery. I'd offer to help…but…I'm broke." Fresh tears bubbled over.

Tifa snatched up a slice of pizza. "Here." She handed it to Rinoa.

"Is this comfort food?" Rinoa took a bite of it.

"No, but it's greasy, and we're all going to get fat and die anyway." Tifa mumbled, savagely eying the remaining pooch of her stomach. "Might as well enjoy the ride."

"At least you have a baby and a husband who loves you." Rinoa whined around a mouthful of pizza. "I'm completely alone. Just call me Rinoa 'Solo' Heartilly."

"I'm here." Aerith pointed to herself. "Your roommate, remember?" Tifa snorted again and Rinoa sighed, wiping at her brimming tears. "I want alcohol. And ice cream. And tacos." Aerith slumped back on the couch.

"Agreed." Rinoa bobbed her head.

The back door opened again and Jake darted into the room, soaking wet. He took one look at the crying, hormonal mess of women in the den and paused.

"Did somebody die?" He asked after a trepid moment. "It smells like pizza and broken dreams in here."

"Aerith almost killed someone with her mind powers." Rinoa pointed. "I suck at life, and Tifa is a zombie."

Tifa snorted herself awake, having been dozing on the couch. "Hey. HEY." She pointed at Jake. "No men. There are no Y chromosomes allowed during our pity party."

Jake paused for a long moment, and then his shoulders shook and he burst into tears. "Tabaeus hates me." He sobbed. "She won't answer the phone, e-mails, texts. I even sent her a carrier pigeon, and I think she killed it."

"Aw!" Aerith extended her arms. "Come here. This is a safe place!"

Jake sank onto the couch into Aerith's arms and Tifa shrugged, snatching up the phone. "We're going to need more pizza."

"I'll go check the freezer for ice cream." Rinoa got up and went to the kitchen.

**..:-X-:..**

**108 – Storm on the Horizon**

The rain storm dragged into a second day, not as heavy as the day before, but the pitter patter of the rain on the streets sounded like a torrential downpour railing over the roof of Cid's body shop. Beverly meandered out of the office and onto the work floor; she was supposed to meet Cid here ten minutes ago, but because of the storm, there had been a number of power outages across town, and he had to deal with those situations. That was obnoxious, but she understood: Restoration Committee duties trumped a woman-friend.

It was just early afternoon, so the shop was open, but the storm had dissuaded most customers, and only a plucky mechanic named Kendra was in, disemboweling an entire truck's engine by the looks of it. Beverly sent her a short wave of greeting before walking further out onto the floor. It was strange to see the place so quiet. Normally there were engines roaring, welding machines hissing, and mechanics grumbling and hollering at each other from across the room. The rain on the roof tempered some of the silence, but it was still eerie.

Beverly snorted as she recognized the old green jeep that belonged to Leon and Tifa. She swore she saw the clunky thing here in the garage more often than she ever saw it out and actually being driven. It wasn't dusty by any means, but the vehicle had more or less secured its parking spot in the corner of the garage, between a rack of tires and Cloud's Fenrir.

Something moved between the jeep and the motorcycle, and she jumped, bringing a hand to her heart in surprise as Cloud abruptly appeared from behind Fenrir.

"Jeez," She exhaled, chuckling at herself. "Nearly scared me half to death."

"Sorry." He grunted an apology, tossing the rag that he'd been polishing the motorcycle with onto an open toolbox. "Thought you saw me."

"It's dark in here, and you're wearing all black," She snorted. "If it wasn't for that crazy ass hair of yours, I probably wouldn't have seen you at all."

While she and Cloud had had few conversations, and he never struck her as an overly happy sort, she found herself concerned when he flatly ignored her remark and started putting away his tools. She didn't push conversation and instead just continued to mill about the floor, inadvertently finding herself loitering near the jeep.

It was a funny little vehicle. Rebuilt and tinkered with and worked on: it had the look of a well-worn rustbucket that had seen its share of miles, but it also had an eagerness about it, like a new car right off the showroom floor wanting to go, go, go! She'd heard that the couple had rebuilt it together, more or less, and that since then, when it wasn't being driven, it had become a sort of safe haven for people who wanted some alone time. She had frequented the garage often and found Aerith or Leon or some other soldier that she didn't know just lying in the back of the jeep with the hatch back popped open.

Today it was empty, and Beverly canted her head, slipping around toward the back of the truck and peering inside. The back seats were folded down and the tail of the jeep was clear. What was it about this thing that made people deem it as their 'happy place?' Curious, she glanced over at Cloud, who had stopped working on Fenrir and was also idly staring at the jeep, and then she popped open the back hatch, hopping to sit just on the edge of it. Pursing her lips, she pushed herself back farther, glancing around. The upholstery was worn from other contemplative bodies that had sought quiet solace back here. The roof was scuffed in a few places, and there was a small marker drawing of a smiley face there also.

Beverly smirked and glanced out the window. "I guess this jeep must have magical powers beyond my comprehension, because I still don't see why you guys hang out in it."

Cloud didn't answer, arms folded and leaning against the back end of Fenrir, staring at the driver's seat of the jeep, looking deeply in thought. Beverly blinked, frowned, and climbed out of the hatch.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

He shrugged one shoulder, eyes not detaching from the steering wheel. "Fine."

She closed the hatch and sauntered between the jeep and Fenrir. "That bike is as polished as its ever going to get; are you considering working on this thing now too?" She nodded toward the truck.

Cloud made a low noise and straightened, "No."

She narrowed one eye. "I don't want to pry—"

"Then don't."

She huffed, "—but I think I understand."

His eyes slowly slid from the driver's side to her face. "Understand, what?"

"I went through it too. Your friends start getting married, having kids, doing these big grown-up things, and you start thinking: what am I doing with my life?" She stopped when she noticed the deadpan expression on his face. "Maybe that's not the center of what's going on here," She corrected and gestured absently to his stiff posture, "but it's definitely a part of it."

She didn't expect him to open up and talk about what was on his mind, as he was clearly troubled about something, but she'd be remiss if she didn't at least leave that door open for him. She wasn't quite old enough to be a mother to most of the Restoration Committee, but that didn't mean that her maternal instincts didn't kick in when she saw their sad puppy faces.

"Something is coming." He muttered, so quietly that she wasn't sure if she was meant to hear it. "Soon…but she said—I don't think we can stop it."

Beverly paused, his tone making her stomach knot. "What do you mean?"

Cloud abruptly walked away, toward the exit. "I need to look up something."

Then he was gone, and Beverly was left standing there, bewildered.

**..:-X-:..**

**109 – Camaraderie**

Leon let the silence in his office hang between him and his best soldier for a long moment. He sat forward, elbows on his desk, hands together, absently staring at her over his fingers. Private McCallister had been under his command for too long to be shaken by the stare, unlike any new recruits who would be trembling leaves at this point. Instead, she sat straight, hands in her lap, at attention—always at attention—and quietly waited for him to proceed, staring right back at him patiently.

The problem was that Leon wasn't sure how to proceed. He had never, in all the years that he had known this woman, seen her behave the way that she had last week. For all intents and purposes, she had lost her mind for those few seconds when she was wailing her fists over Private Mindy Tallman. Leon had had to physically remove her from the fight before she could deal any serious injuries to the other woman.

But the damage was done, the rumors spread, and a response was being demanded from him. It had been well known beforehand that McCallister and Tallman had something ugly in their mutual past. It was their personal business; Leon had felt no inclination to ask or involve himself. But to see his stone-faced soldier lose control like that, he couldn't let that slide. He had already talked to Cloud, who had been running Tallman and her fellow recruits through basic training. Tallman wasn't anyone special, and she hardly had a background that would associate her with McCallister…again, it wasn't his business to assume anything.

"I just finished filing the report on the incident that happened last week, involving you and Private Tallman." He started flatly. When she didn't respond, he exhaled and lowered his hands to the desk surface. "Do you want to explain to me what happened?"

He refused to believe that Tabaeus McCallister would flip out and attack a fellow soldier for something as mundane and trivial as 'boy troubles.' That may have been a factor, but McCallister had gone through more than enough of this war against the darkness to develop a stronger immunity to drama than what she had recently displayed.

McCallister shifted slightly and replied in a formal tone. "I lost my cool, sir. I regret that I let my emotions cloud my judgment. My behavior was unacceptable. I embarrassed myself, you, and this department. For that I am deeply sorry. It will never happen again."

Leon eyed her for a moment and sat back in his seat, drumming his fingers briefly across the edges of the arm rests. He didn't want to open this box, but he had to ask her now. "What is the nature of your history with Private Mindy Tallman?"

She pursed her lips—the only sign of emotion at all. "Complicated, sir. Not worth going into detail about."

"I disagree." He shook his head slowly. "I had to write a report detailing the incident. You assaulted a fellow soldier in public, in the middle of town, with dozens of onlookers." He drew a breath. "I got plenty of Jake's perspective, but I pray that there is more to this situation than Tallman hitting on him."

"There is, sir."

"And what is it?"

McCallister's gaze slid to the edge of his desk before snapping back up to his eyes. "We knew each other a long time ago. Something happened. She betrayed my trust."

"How?"

Her eyes unexpectedly softened into an almost pleading look, as if to say: please, don't make me answer that. Her tone, however, was cold. "Unforgivably."

Leon didn't offer an immediate rebuttal, allowing another silence to balloon inside the office. McCallister didn't move or offer any additional details, and he didn't press. But he had to press, didn't he? One of his soldiers had attacked another soldier: that couldn't be left uninvestigated.

"Who is James?" Leon asked as delicately as possible.

McCallister had been visibly angry and upset during the exchange last week, but it wasn't until Tallman brought up the name 'James' that McCallister had attacked her. And, asking the question now, Leon saw a similar state take over her.

Without blinking, McCallister shot from her chair as though it had shocked her, standing on her feet, ramrod straight and arms snapped at her sides. The color drained from her face.

"Permission to be dismissed." She asked, voice tight and eyes ahead, not meeting his.

Leon looked up at her for a few seconds. "Granted."

She turned on her heel and wordlessly walked toward the door. Leon hesitated, but then stood. He hated this, but she was forcing his hand.

"I'm going to have to suspend you, Private." He said plainly. "You attacked another Allied soldier, and your refusal to supply explanation will be treated as insubordination." He deflated at using the words 'suspend' and 'insubordination' regarding her.

McCallister paused by the door and glanced back at him. "I understand, sir."

She started to leave again, but now Leon had gone from curious to concerned.

"Tabaeus." He dropped any guise of formality.

She half turned again, hand on the doorknob. "Yes, sir?"

He frowned at her guarded expression. "Are you all right?"

McCallister momentarily stared at him, blinked, and lowered her shoulders. "I'm always all right." She said quietly before taking her leave of his office.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _As soon as Cloud fell after Agent Mike through the portal, it felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head._


	38. Paradox Part Four

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as is Agent Mike. This chapter picks up right where Paradox Part Three left off, and it goes through what happened between Cloud and the agent disappearing and when he showed up at Merlin's all spooked out. Language warning for the end of the chapter. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**110 – Assault on the Senses**

As soon as Cloud fell after Agent Mike through the portal, it felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. Blood roared in his ears as blue light nearly blinded him, and he lost any sense of which direction was up. His haphazard grip on the woman's arm was ripped away, and just as quickly as it began, Cloud found himself slamming into the stone floor of the Dark Depths.

All of the wind left him upon impact and he grunted, a wave of dizziness making his head spin. The disorientation was nauseating, and Cloud pushed himself up on his hands and knees, trying not to vomit. Blood was still roaring through his head, and he opened his eyes, glancing around the Dark Depths.

He…hadn't moved. It appeared to be later in the day than before, but nothing seemed amiss otherwise. Movement caught the corner of his eye and he turned to see Agent Mike climbing up from where she had landed on some loose rocks several meters away, abrasions littering the left side of her face and tearing at her left sleeve. Around her right arm was the Leech.

Springing to his feet, Cloud realized that his Buster Sword was gone. It had been left behind…so they HAD moved through time. Shoving that thought aside, he hurried over to where Mike had maneuvered up onto her knees, brown hair flying wild, and was slamming her left arm repeatedly against the stone floor, trying to dislodge the creature that had latched itself around her forearm.

"How do we make it let go?" He asked, but could barely hear his own voice over the thunder in his ears.

The ground under them trembled, and whatever the woman responded with was lost to Cloud as seven militarized Gummi Ships abruptly flew over the Dark Depths toward the Old Castle Ruins. Cloud involuntarily looked up and saw the ships peel into a tight formation, peppering some unseen enemy with missiles. The stone floor shuddered again, and a plume of smoke and ash erupted from the direction of downtown Radiant Garden.

The roar he was hearing wasn't blood pounding in his skull; it was coming from his surroundings. Radiant Garden was under attack. This thought was only driven further home when two more explosions reverberated under his feet, blasting columns of fire and ash over the walls of the Dark Depths. The Gummis overhead were dogfighting in the skies with some dark ships that Cloud didn't recognize.

Agent Mike's pained scream jerked Cloud back to her situation. The Leech's mouth was clamped to her forearm just below the wrist, and the rest of its body had wrapped itself around her forearm, elbow, and upper arm, similarly to how the other Leech had been wrapped around the other victim's throat.

"Dammit." Mike growled, tears of pain in her eyes as she looked to him. "We have to get out of here."

Cloud gawked at her. "We have to get that thing off you." He pointed out.

She shook her head. "No, we can't be here." She said, looking up as a massive Fire Spell ripped through the sky and burned through the clouds. "YOU can't be here. Not now. Especially not at THIS time."

"What is this?" He helped her to her feet. "Why is Radiant Garden under attack?"

Instead of replying, she punched the device at her wrist and grabbed his elbow. As the portal materialized around them, Cloud saw a large crack break through the floor of the Dark Depths. It ran in a jagged, frantic line toward the wall of the cliff side, expanding as it deepened. The front half of the secluded place fell away into the Great Maw as the portal pulled him and Mike out.

Another cold sensation slammed across his body, and, like a rope was tied around him, he was jerked sideways through the time portal with Mike. They both landed in a patch of snow, and the frozen grass underneath prickled at his bare skin. Mike rolled away and was up on her feet as Cloud immediately got up on his knees. She staggered slightly, looking momentarily disoriented as she abruptly ran past him.

Cloud got to his feet after her and saw that she was running toward a two-story brick house. They had moved spatially this time, and if they were still in Radiant Garden, then it was a time in the world's history with which he was unfamiliar.

Mike, however, seemed very familiar with it, as she made her way to the attached garage, knocked over a potted plant by the door, and grabbed at the spare key that was hidden there. She unlocked the garage with practiced ease and dragged it up before bolting inside. By the time Cloud reached the garage, she was coming back out with a hand saw in tow.

"Here." She thrust it at him handle first. "Magic won't work and we both lost our weapons." She grimaced as she stretched out her arm, the Leech wrapped around it. "This'll have to do."

Cloud took the saw, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Can you unwrap it?"

She gasped in pain as the Leech continued to gnaw on her forearm, but she nodded and used her free hand to force the body of the creature to unwind from her upper arm. Cloud helped her work the thing away until the Leech was just hanging by its mouth, and he angled the saw's jagged edge as close as he could to the latching point.

The device at her wrist flickered and a small hiss of blue light was spat out of it.

"What's it doing?" He asked before he started to hack at the creature.

"It's been damaged." She said tightly. "I tried to bring us somewhere safe, but it might-" She was cut off as blue light burst out, along with another bucket of ice water over his head.

**..:-X-:..**

**111 – The Sorcerer's War**

Cloud managed to land on his feet this time as the portal dumped him and the time agent in another time…and place. The snow and the brick house were gone, and this time when he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by books. Shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books were in every direction that he looked: this was the library in the Old Castle Ruins. Merlin had forced the entire Restoration Committee, Cloud included, to spend an entire weekend clearing this place out after the fall of Organization XIII. They had catalogued and sorted and boxed and transported every text in this whole place.

"I don't like it." A man's voice cut through the air, sharp and to the point.

"What other choice do we have?" A woman replied softly.

Cloud breathed slowly and looked around. Agent Mike wasn't with him. Panic ballooned through his chest, because if she was gone, so was her time travelling technology. He knew where he was, but he had no idea WHEN he was. Maybe she was just somewhere else in the castle. The saw was still in his hand; he had been holding it when the portal opened, so it must have been pulled through by association.

"You think you can do it?" A third voice spoke up, low, soft, and lethal.

Cloud's blood ran cold as he recognized it. Sephiroth.

"I have to." The woman responded matter-of-factly. "She has to be stopped. The armies are getting closer. We've had enough civilian casualties. No more. It stops here."

Cloud turned slowly in place, noting that he was on the second floor of the library, and the voices were coming from the lower level. As soundlessly as possible, he crept toward the railing that overlooked the lower level. He spotted three figures standing in the open space below. One woman, who'd spoken, with long auburn hair that framed her heart-shaped face and was wearing a light blue dress, stood between two men: one with black hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a standard blue military uniform, though his posture was lax and he was fidgeting, and the other man who stood ramrod straight, arms folded across a wide chest, also wearing a standard military uniform, but this one also had buzz cut hair and his stony, frowning expression looked like it had been carved into his face permanently. The three of them were facing the fourth member of the conversation—Sephiroth—who was out of Cloud's line of sight.

"Can't we just—" The lax-looking soldier interjected, "—negotiate with them? We've been slinging bullets around for months and all we've gained is a body count." He lifted his shoulders, "There might still be a way to end this peacefully."

"No, there isn't." The stern-faced soldier cut in, "The darkness is growing. The way the enemy is gaining ground, they'll be at the backdoor of Radiant Garden within the month. They're going to be coming at us with all kinds of black magic, and you want to fight with your words?" His tone was biting.

"Colonel." Sephiroth spoke again, and Cloud gritted his teeth. That title-drop seemed to be all that was needed to end the spat, so he went on. "Ifalna, as one of the last Cetra, you're the only one who could even attempt this."

The woman inhaled, puffing herself up slightly. "Then I better not screw up."

"I'm going with you." The aggressive soldier said, gripping the handle of the long sword at his belt. "Someone around here has to have some balls about this."

The man with the ponytail balked. "What are you insinuating?"

"What does it sound like I'm insinuating, Loire?" The man snapped.

Cloud felt a presence at his back then and spun on his heel. Agent Mike was there, and she lifted a finger to her lips. The gesture was unnecessary. She looked even worse, growing pale, which caused the abrasions on her face to stand out more starkly. He looked down at the Leech. The unpredictable time travel looked like it was taking a toll on the creature.

"Like I can't protect her. She's not just your sister, Leonhart; she's my wife." Loire snapped in the conversation below. "And I think a summit with their leaders would be better for everybody, rather than more violence."

Mike tugged at Cloud's elbow, and he reluctantly followed. This was the past; it had to be. Sephiroth was gone in the present time, in Cloud's time. And who were these people? If the woman was a Cetra, she might be related to Aerith, and he had just distinctly heard the Loire person refer to the other man as Leonhart.

He backtracked through the shelves with Mike, who was weaving as she walked and was clenching her jaw hard to avoid moaning in pain. They slipped out through the second floor exit, but before they could get any farther, Agent Mike collapsed, dropping to her knees on the floor.

"Hey—" Cloud grabbed her, kneeling down in front of her. "What's happening to you?"

She lifted glazed eyes. "I told you…Leech…feeds on a person, takes them over…uses them like—" She hissed in pain, doubling over, "—like a puppet. The saw—"

She continued to mumble, but her words became unintelligible. Cloud saw the device around her wrist beginning to flicker again, and he set his jaw. No, not again, not before he got this thing off her. She might not survive another tumble through the time…vortex-thing.

With a hard swallow, Cloud pulled her arm taut, as the rest of her body bonelessly shrugged against his shoulder, and the Leech dangled from her arm, where it had suctioned itself. He lifted the saw with the other hand, set it hastily against the slimy flesh of the creature, and quickly sawed through its neck.

The Leech let out an inorganic shriek that echoed off the castle walls.

**..:-X-:..**

**112 – Standstill**

The portal opened and closed so quickly that Cloud almost didn't register the shift. He was so focused on detaching the creature from the time agent's arm that it wasn't until the Leech slumped limply away that he looked up. They were back in the main town of Radiant Garden, in an alley next to one of the few streets that saw automobile traffic: the world was so compact that there wasn't much need for cars other than cross-town travel.

The sky was dark, but in an unnatural, unsettling way. It didn't feel like evening or night time. Rather, it was as though a shadow had simply fallen over Radiant Garden, or an eclipse or something of that nature. Mike groaned, having collapsed entirely to the ground as the Leech fell away. Cloud had severed its head—or what had passed as a head for the snake-like creature—but while the body was limp on the ground, the jaws were still clamped over her forearm, causing the open wound to bleed freely.

With a low curse, Cloud noted that her left sleeve was almost entirely ripped from the shoulder of the shirt. He hastily reached up and tore the rest of the fabric away, revealing an old scar on her bicep of discolored skin long healed over. He set the cloth across his knee as he pried the powerless jaws away from her arm, where blue veins were visible under the skin. The jarring pain that motion caused resulted in rousing Mike from semi-consciousness with a groan. Cloud muttered an apology as he took up the sleeve, wrapping it around the gaping wound and tying it as tightly as he could without causing additional discomfort for her. He had no idea if those Leeches were poisonous or if their bite carried venom, but stopping the bleeding was the best he could do at this point.

Getting his bearings, he looked at the device on her wrist. It was no longer hissing out energy pulses, but it was still clearly damaged. How many different time rifts had they fallen through now? He had almost lost track, and it was giving him a headache. Too many questions, too many scenarios, and too many unknowns were pinballing through his skull.

There were bodies lying all over the street.

The sight took a beat to register, but as soon as it did, Cloud stiffened. Amidst the unnatural shadow darkening Radiant Garden's sky, he could make out a dozen or so people lying where they had apparently landed after what looked like passing out or fainting. There was no blood or any signs of attack. A siren was wailing in the distance, but there was no movement.

Agent Mike appeared to be stable as she clawed her way back to consciousness, so Cloud stood and moved toward the end of the alley, not too far away in case she needed help, but close enough to the street to see more of where—or when—they'd landed.

The Alliance Headquarter building was clearly visible downtown, and he recognized the newly constructed buildings lining the street. This had to be the current time, or somewhere close. What had happened to everyone? It looked like they had all simultaneously collapsed…or been gassed, but Cloud didn't see any residual gas or canisters lying around. People had collapsed while crossing the street, opening doors, and even eating at nearby tables. Two vehicles had run into a streetlamp where the drivers had also passed out behind the wheel, resulting in one white pick-up truck T-boning into the passenger side of a green jeep. Fire from the truck's engine was licking at the passenger side of the jeep. The driver of the truck was slumped forward against a deflated airbag. The driver of the jeep was out of sight.

Recognition hit Cloud like a kick in the chest and he started to bolt forward toward that old beat up jeep that Tifa had insisted on fixing up and driving.

"Stop." Agent Mike croaked.

Cloud barely glanced back to see that she had gotten up on her hands and knees and was attempting to get to her feet to stop him. He ignored her statement and started again toward the wrecked vehicle. On the ground around him, people were beginning to stir.

"You can't." Mike had successfully reached her feet and was running at him.

Cloud got just close enough to see Tifa in the driver's seat, not wearing any blood but not conscious either, before Agent Mike was on him, tackling him around the waist and physically dragging him away from the vehicle with a strength that was abnormal for a woman her size, considering that, moments ago, she had been nearly catatonic.

"She could be hurt." Cloud tried to throw her off. "I have to help her—"

"You will." Mike grunted, successfully pulling him back into the alley. "This hasn't happened yet for you. You can't interfere or else something might—"

As the civilians continued to stir, Cloud heard a sudden cry from the car wreck. A baby. Mikayla. Mikayla was in the jeep. Something snapped inside him and Cloud violently threw Agent Mike off of him, sprinting out of the alley and beelining toward the jeep, where the fire from the truck's engine was almost inside the passenger side of Tifa's car.

"Blizzaga!" The sudden ice spell warped around the fire, paralyzing the flames in solid ice between the two vehicles.

"Shit." Mike cursed as a newcomer ran toward the jeep.

Cloud froze in place as he saw HIMSELF run toward the crashed cars. A wave of confusion made him momentarily stop breathing. That was HIM. Or another version of him. Or his future self. That was the Cloud of this time—but it couldn't have been much further in his own future than where he was supposed to be. The migraine was returning with a vengeance.

He haplessly stared as the other Cloud opened the driver's side door, leaned in, found Tifa alive, and immediately tried to get the back door open to get to Mikayla, who was screaming. This was too much. It was all too much to comprehend. His stomach rebelled and he turned away, bending over and vomiting in the alley.

Mike's hands were pulling him away. "We have to go. The fact that you're seeing this at all—"

She activated the device at her wrist and blue light flooded Cloud's vision.

When the light and the disorientation faded, Cloud found himself standing idly in the Dark Depths, staring at his Buster Sword, lying where it had landed when he dropped it…before all of this mess. His brain had completely shut off for a moment, and he couldn't think, couldn't force himself to think, didn't try to force himself to think: because that would mean trying to assign logic to what had just happened.

"Shit." Mike was cursing, pacing in front of him. "Dammit…Fuck, fuck, FUCK. Dammit. Shit!" She absently rubbed the wound on her forearm. "You weren't supposed to see any of that."

The device at her wrist was acting up again, and she hastily moved far away from Cloud.

"It's going to open another portal. You stay here." She ordered. "I'll…I'll sort this out…" She looked unsure and frazzled. "I just—FUCK." She barked. "I'll handle this. Stay here. Don't—What you saw, what just happened—Don't try to—"

Then the blue light swallowed her and she disappeared.

Cloud stood there staring at the spot where she had vanished.

What was he supposed to do with this?

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **Lots of teasers in this chapter for my upcoming stories, which are what this story is counting down to (hence the 'T Minus' title), namely _Sentient Midnight_ and _Hands that Weave Webs_, the first two stories of the planned trilogy.

The Paradox storyline will be concluded in the next chapter.

**Preview for next week:** _Mike activated the device, and with a short blue flash, she was gone for the final time._


	39. Paradox Concluded

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. This chapter sees the finale of the Paradox story arc. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**113 – Walls of Weird**

Aerith stood in the doorway to Cloud's apartment, arms folded, torn between being too startled at the mess and being a little wary of causing an avalanche if she touched any of it. There were boxes of files littered about, some stacked on top of each other and others lying half-disemboweled with its contents splashed over every surface. Was this why she hadn't heard from Cloud in a few days? Had he been buried under this mess?

Cloud, for his part, was oblivious to her entrance, his back turned as he faced the opposite wall, where several documents had been hastily pinned to the drywall. He had a thick black marker in one hand, and was repeatedly tapping himself on the neck with it, seemingly in a thoughtful frenzy.

"And you thought I was obsessed with my research." Aerith announced herself.

Rather than starting in surprise, Cloud merely swiveled around in place to face her. The eyes that met hers had clearly not seen sleep in at least 24 hours.

"Hey." He greeted, still tapping the marker against his neck.

"Hey." Aerith narrowed one eye, glancing around the clutter as she stepped into his apartment. "What…Whatcha doin'?" She asked in a singsong voice.

"I'm…" He vaguely glanced around the room, as though noticing the chaos of the strewn papers for the first time. "…thinking."

Aerith crossed the room slowly, folding her arms as she glanced at his wall of pinned documents. "About?"

It was a pointless question, she quickly realized, as several words repeated themselves across the files, print outs, clippings, and photos in black marker: blue flash, time vortex, history, and leech. She pursed her lips. This again?

"Cloud," She sighed gently. "You have to let this go."

"No." Cloud stopped the tapping and backed up toward an open box, rifling inside for a manila folder. "I told you what happened, what I saw. You can't still doubt—"

"I'm not doubting." Aerith quickly said. "I'm worried that you're becoming obsessed with this though."

There had been no doubting since he had stumbled into Merlin's house several weeks ago, white as a sheet and close to emotional collapse, after his latest encounter with that mysterious time traveler who only referred to herself as Agent Mike. Aerith had come to accept that, between magic and science, time travel wasn't exactly a stretch…particularly when you considered what Aerith herself had been researching for the past several months. Still, she didn't exactly delight in watching him obsess over an encounter with another woman.

"She knows me." He was rambling—a bizarre enough thing for Cloud to do anyway. "She knows the Restoration Committee, its members, its history, everything. When I fell through the vortex with her, I saw some of that. I was in the future, Aerith." He looked at her, his expression impossibly frazzled and passive at the same time. "And the past too. Some of it wasn't too far off from now. There was an eclipse or…something…Radiant Garden was under attack—"

"I know, you told me." Aerith dropped her arms to her sides. "And we're taking the proper precautions. Radiant Garden is the military epicenter of the Alliance. We're well armed."

"Not against that." Cloud shook his head. "You didn't see…You didn't feel it…."

Aerith gave him a once-over, rubbed her jaw, and inhaled. "Okay. When was the last time you got any sleep? Or eaten anything? You look ready to keel over."

Cloud made an absent gesture to wave off her concern, mumbling something about a brick house and a spare key as he turned back to his wall of papers.

She sighed and pulled out her phone. "Well, I'm going to order a pizza. Walk me through…this…" She gestured to the papers. "…and then you need to take a break."

"House…house…brick hou—brick house." Cloud's spine straightened and he whirled back to face her, epiphany in his eyes. "Brick house."

He dove toward a box that was precipitously balanced on the couch, nearly going headlong into it as he snatched up a notebook covered in scribbles. There was a loud meow and a hiss as Aerith's grey cat, Piper, was jostled from his spot on one of the cushions.

"Why is my cat here?" She paused, mid-dial on her phone.

"Spare key…but she knew…SHE KNEW." Cloud was in his own world, and Aerith's concern was rapidly swinging from moderate to severely worried. "The Djinn. I saw it…I KNEW I had seen that house before!"

"Cloud…Cloud." Aerith crossed over to him, taking the files and the marker away from him, setting them absently aside, and putting her hands on either side of his neck. "Look at me. Breathe. You're starting to scare me."

Cloud looked annoyed, but briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath for her. As he released it, he opened his eyes and looked at her calmly. "Sorry."

He was almost on the brink of a smile when his eyes slid from hers, looking over her shoulder to the open door of the apartment. His expression became wooden. Nonplussed, Aerith turned to follow his gaze.

A woman stood in the doorway, in a black suit, brown hair tumbling from a messy ponytail. She offered a short wave and a plucky grin, her hazel eyes playful. "Sup."

"Mike." Cloud muttered.

**..:-X-:..**

**114 – Whispering into Megaphones**

Subtlety was an art long lost to Jake Alms. He was aware of this and really didn't care. Subtlety was boring. Subtlety was quiet and calm, a nod, a wink, a smile. He had made it this far without that mess. If you could get away with megaphones, confetti, and fanfare, why wouldn't you? That was just more fun.

But as Jake walked through the throngs of soldiers in the training center on his way to deliver a package to Cid Highwind, his eyes found Tabaeus as she was emerging from the armory stairwell. Her gaze absently drifted and found him looking back at her, and Jake knew this was going to take subtlety.

They both froze for a moment, ten meters between them and a couple dozen people around them. She looked petrified, and Jake felt his chest ache, immediately wanting to do something—anything—to make that expression on her face go away. Instead, he awkwardly shifted the box in his arms and canted his head, offering a meek smile of greeting.

Tabaeus pursed her lips and cast her eyes pointedly toward the file storage office down the hall before looking back at him. She was…inviting him to talk, somewhere private. Jake nearly dropped the box in his arms and vehemently nodded, abruptly dumping the package at the clerk's desk that was two meters to his left.

"For Highwind." He blurted to the flustered clerk before navigating through the people.

He reached the file storage office and opened the door, finding the room empty except for a dozen grey file cabinets and Tabaeus, arms folded across the room. He inhaled to catch the breath he didn't remember losing, and when she said nothing, he swallowed.

"Hi." He said, trying to appear as even as possible while his emotions pinballed through his chest. How was he supposed to react? She'd hardly acknowledged his existence since the fight in the Borough, and her eyes were unreadable at the moment. Being this close to her was painful, but it was a pain that he relished after so long out in the cold.

"Hello." She replied, looking uncomfortable. "I got suspended."

"I heard…Sorry." He rubbed the back of his head.

She unfolded her arms, letting them drop to her sides. "I'm sorry too."

Jake blinked. "Eh? What?"

Tabaeus inhaled, her gaze faltering. "I didn't handle…any of that…very well."

"Oh," Jake lifted his hands, "No, no, no. I," He put a hand on his chest. "screwed up."

"Yes, you did." She cut him off, and he quieted. "But I know Mindy Tallman. I've known her for years. I shouldn't have been surprised that she—" She glanced away abruptly before looking back at him. "I'm not girlfriend material, Jake. I think we've figured that out."

Jake grimaced. "This is all my fault, Tabaeus. I shouldn't have—I just want to understand. What happened between you two? I know—" He immediately started as Tabaeus flinched. "You aren't a robot; she was wrong about that. But you are a vault…We've known each other for years now, and I still feel like sometimes I hardly know you."

Tabaeus looked pained. "You know enough."

"Knowing isn't enough." He pressed delicately, taking a slow step toward her. "I know that you are tough and smart and loyal to the bone. I know that you fold paper cranes when you're bored, and you would rather jump into a volcano than admit that you might need help or that you don't know something. You're stubborn and you have these walls around you…I don't just want to 'know' you, Tabs. I want to understand you."

Tabaeus looked at him. "Jake, I don't know how to have a love life. For the past few years the universe has frequently reminded me that I'm not good at it. I'm not soft. I'm not warm or cuddly or open about my emotions. But you are, Jake. You…hug people when they're sad and you hang a thousand paper cranes in my apartment just to ask me out. You helped Lockhart research childbirth, and you set up Kisaragi with your friend Trevor."

"What are you getting at?" Jake questioned, confused.

Tabaeus's shoulders slumped. "I'm saying that you're a good guy, and I don't want you to wind up wasting your time on me."

Jake put his hands on his hips. "Can I be the judge of whether I've wasted my time?"

She met his eyes. "Have you?"

Jake paused. She looked painfully sincere in her question. Was she really that insecure? Did she truly think so little of herself? What had happened to her to make her think like this? The Restoration Committee respected her. Leon trusted her to the end of the world. Yet she still saw herself as a shadow, a background character in everyone else's story, including her own. That mindset made Jake's throat constrict and his eyes burn. He hated that she felt that way.

"Jake?" She looked alarmed at his silence.

In two strides, Jake reached her and threw his arms around her, pulling her close. She stiffened but didn't move away from the embrace, standing still as Jake held her. He couldn't help it. He couldn't watch her stand there any longer, looking so alone and looking so accepting of the fact that she was alone…Not when he had something to say about it.

He shook his head over her shoulder. She smelled like gunpowder and paper. He breathed her in and continued to hold her, as she continued to allow him.

"God, I miss you." He exhaled. "I'm so sorry. Please. I miss you so much, Tabaeus." He kissed the top of her shoulder. "Time spent with you is never, EVER wasted."

Screw subtlety.

**..:-X-:..**

**115 – Paradox Concluded**

"Sup?" Cloud repeated Agent Mike's greeting caustically. "SUP? You disappear for weeks after…after THAT, and all you have to say is SUP?!"

The time traveler twitched and looked sideways to Aerith. Her eyes widened fractionally. "Oh…hello."

Cloud looked from Mike to Aerith. "Aerith." He stepped around her and pointed to the newcomer. "This is her. This is Agent Mike." He glared at the time traveler. "What happened?"

Mike lifted her hands placatingly. "A lot of crap, that's what's happened." She stood loose. "Our little jaunt through the vortex nearly got me fired from the agency, but as far as time itself, no harm, no foul."

Aerith looked frozen where she stood beside Cloud. He looked to Mike in exasperation.

"So…" He glared at her. "Are you going to explain any of what happened?"

Mike offered a shit-eating grin. "That's not how it works, bud. We've been through this. I just came by to thank you for saving my life." She rotated her wrist. "That Leech would have sucked me dry if you hadn't done what you did."

"Just another scar for the collection then." Cloud said, remembering the discolored burn scar that he'd seen on her bicep. "That's not an answer. Who are you? What was that shadow?"

"You'll know when you're supposed to know." Mike explained. "I didn't intend for you to see all of that. That was no magic carpet ride for either of us. When my boss found out—"

"Shut up." Aerith cut in like a hot knife through butter.

Agent Mike's jaw involuntarily clamped closed, and she looked in alarm to Aerith.

Aerith, for her part, looked livid. "You," She pointed at the time traveler. "You are the one who's been popping in and popping out on him for months, dodging every question and dragging him through nine different circles of Hell. Look at him!" She gestured to Cloud, who flinched. "He's nearly gone mad trying to figure out…whatever…happened to you two."

Rather than make the expected snarky comment, Mike grew serious.

"My dimensional manipulator was damaged; the device that's used to time travel." She tugged her jacket sleeve up enough to show the translucent blue manipulator around her wrist. "I fell through five different timelines before I managed to get back to my own. Cloud saved my life, but I was still pretty gimpy when I got home. Then I got my ass chewed by my boss. I went to my partner's funeral, the man I had to KILL because the Leech was using his body like a puppet. I made sure it was safe to come back to explain myself. The future, your futures, changed because of what he saw," She nodded to Cloud, but her eyes stayed intensely on Aerith. "because of what I accidentally let him see."

Before the two women could burn each other's skulls with their hostile stares, Cloud interjected. "Changed how?"

Mike slid her eyes to Cloud. "Nothing serious." Her gaze drifted around to the pell-mell state of his apartment. "I can't say the same for you."

"Yeah, well, you didn't exactly give me anything to go on." Cloud tried to snap, but he was too tired so it came out dry. "And I think I'm starting to figure out why."

Both Aerith and Mike looked at him, confused and expectant respectively.

He glanced at one of the open boxes of files. "There're several years of missing history for Radiant Garden. Nearly an entire decade of nothing. No documents, no videos, no files, no correspondence: it's like someone erased a chunk of the world's past." He looked squarely to Mike. "Someone's trying to cover something up."

Her expression gave away nothing, but her eyes were taunting, teasing him. Like she wasn't going to tell him anything, that she wanted him to figure it out himself.

"Something like a war." Cloud said quietly, staring hard at her for a reaction. "Like the Sorcerer's War, maybe."

"What Sorcerer's War?" Aerith pressed. "You've mentioned that before…"

"Exactly." Cloud replied. "Merlin mentioned it once, by accident I think. He won't answer my questions, and he's the only one old enough to remember that period in history. It was almost 30 years ago. Eight years of history is just…gone. But we were there, weren't we?" He looked to Mike. "In the library. I heard them talking…What's with the cover up?"

The time agent's expression remained passive, like a mask.

Cloud pushed. "Does it have to do with the other timelines? Those couldn't have been completely random; they had to mean something. Radiant Garden being under attack in the future…The shadows and the unconscious bodies…the brick house."

For the first time, Mike looked uncomfortable at his prying, rather than amused.

"You were familiar with that house, and I recognize it now." He pointed at her. "Who are you, really?"

For a long moment, the woman stood lax, head tilted slightly as she surveyed him, almost with a thoughtful air. Then she smiled slowly. "I'm just someone who grew up hearing stories. About the war against the Darkness, about Keyblades and heroes and Kingdom Hearts." She spoke smoothly. "And I didn't hear those stories from data archives or history books. They were bedtime stories for me, for my siblings, for my friends."

"That means the war ends." Aerith breathed. "You're from the future, but you grew up. You talk about the war against the darkness like it's in the past…and if you're alive and your people are thriving in the future…That means we won. We'll win. This will end." She lifted a hand to her mouth.

Mike's eyes were dark and sad as she looked from Aerith back to Cloud. "Question everything." She implored, lifting her wrist and taking hold of the manipulator device. "Don't stop what you're doing." She offered a small smile. "But try to chill out sometimes too, m'kay? Eat greasy food. Enjoy life without angsting about it all the time. Thanks for the adventure. I'll see you on the other side, yeah?"

Cloud still had a thousand questions burning at the forefront of his mind, but he shoved them back. "You're kind of a bitch with this whole…no answers thing."

She snorted. "I learned from the best." She winked. "Live long and prosper."

Mike activated the device, and with a short blue flash, she was gone for the final time.

The apartment was quiet for a beat.

"Is she coming back?" Aerith blurted, rounding on him. "What was that? What did any of what she just said mean? I don't—" She ran a hand through her hair, turning and scrutinizing his frantic notes on the wall. "What brick house are you talking about?"

Cloud remained where he was, an unexplainable sense of calm settling over him for the first true time since his experience in the time vortex. 'Question everything.' He had his answer. Something was coming. Something was coming, and it was connected to those missing years of Radiant Garden's past. Just as he found some sense of closure, though, Aerith was having her eyes opened to the whole situation.

"Ordering a pizza sounds like a good idea." He said, taking out his phone. "Then we can work our way through all of this."

Across the room, Piper meowed loudly and continued to tear his claws through the couch cushion.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **That's the last of Agent Mike that we'll see for a while. Major teasers were dropped in this chapter about some upcoming projects, but next chapter begins the final arc of this story, so stay tuned!

**Preview for next week:** _Leon knew that Sora had been slowly remembering pieces of Project Stasis for some time now._


	40. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. The final arc of the story gets some steam behind it in this chapter. Shout out to all you lovelies who have sent me theories about Paradox. Most of your questions should be answered by the end of this story, even if it takes some squinting to see them. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**116 – Emerging Memories**

Leon stood with his arms folded in the front room of Merlin's house. The house was empty except for himself, Sora, and Riku. This was not how he had been expecting his Wednesday to go, he inwardly mused. The three heroes from Destiny Islands had winged their way to Radiant Garden at King Mickey's invite to the annual Allied Council State of Affairs meeting. As two Keybearers and a Princess of Heart, they had more than enough right to attend, though Leon was surprised that they had actually elected to.

The meeting wasn't for another few hours. Sora, and by extension Riku, had almost immediately decided to take the opportunity to have a discussion with Leon about…'stuff' had been their operative word. Given Riku's slight but sincere hint for Kairi to be elsewhere, the Princess of Heart had needed little encouragement to hurry off to Leon and Tifa's house to see Mikayla. Of course they wanted to talk about Project Stasis.

And, two hours after that conversation started, a contemplative silence had settled. The other two both looked lost in their own thoughts, digesting everything. Leon knew that Sora had been slowly remembering pieces of Project Stasis for some time now, and although Riku hadn't been a part of that horrific ordeal, he had become very well acquainted with it in his drive to support both Sora and Kairi—who had had her memories voluntarily modified to erase that experience—after the dust had settled on the matter nearly two years earlier.

"So," Sora had never done well with silence. "Congratulations on becoming a dad."

Leon exhaled at the abrupt shift. He could understand it though. Project Stasis had been horrific for everyone involved; Sora not the least of all. For several months after it ended, he had been blissfully unaware, as his mind had suppressed the traumatic memories of it all. Now, he was suddenly facing it all, remembering it all, and having the truth of it all laid bare and ugly in front of him…Leon would have changed the subject too if it had been him.

Riku seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because he didn't roll his eyes or look exasperated at Sora's apparent lack of attention span. He didn't indulge it either, though.

"But everyone is okay?" Riku asked, looking pointedly at Leon. "There were no long term effects on anybody?"

Leon shook his head, "No negative effects. Though none of us are too fond of virtual reality games anymore."

Riku snorted at that.

"Do you have a picture?" Sora asked bluntly.

Leon and Riku both looked at him.

"Of your daughter." Sora added.

Resisting a frown, Leon tugged his cellphone out of his pocket and wordlessly handed it to Sora. The younger man took it and started thumbing through the shameless number of pictures that Leon had stored in there of Mikayla.

"And the…" Riku awkwardly resumed the conversation. "The guy responsible…Franks? He's been taken care of?"

"He's facing life imprisonment and solitary confinement in the maximum security prison in the deserts of Agrabah." Leon answered. "He's not going anywhere."

"Good." Riku muttered, and then cleared his throat. "Has he ever said what the point of it all was? I mean, at the end of the day, what did he accomplish with Project Stasis?"

"He wanted to see how far a pure heart could be pushed before it broke and what would happen when it broke." Sora said, not looking up from the pictures. "Oh, this is a cute one." He tilted the phone toward Riku to show him the picture.

"Sora." Riku sounded exasperated.

"No." Sora abruptly handed the phone back to Leon. "I get it, okay? I don't…I don't quite remember EVERYTHING yet, but what I do remember really sucks. I don't have to remember all of it to know that I really screwed up in Stasis. I can tell because when I first walked in the room this morning, Tifa flinched. Leon, you could hardly look at me for more than a few seconds at first. And the look on your soldier's face…McLane or McCollock or whatever her name is…She hates me too, and I don't even remember her."

"No one hates you." Leon corrected. "And believe me, the dust has settled on Project Stasis for everybody. Me, Tifa, McCallister, everybody…We've gotten over it. We've moved on."

"Except me." Sora pointed at his chest. "I didn't even know there was anything to 'get over' until I started having nightmares about it. So just…bear with me." He looked imploringly to Riku. "Please? I'm…It's giving me a migraine."

Riku sighed, "Okay." He nodded once, "Right. Of course."

Leon pocketed his phone. "None of it was your fault, you know. It's easy to think that way, but you were manipulated. We all were. We all survived."

"And Kairi will never remember." Sora trailed away, staring at the wall.

They were all quiet for a moment after that. This was definitely not how Leon had imagined his Wednesday to go. It almost began to get awkward, until Sora abruptly clapped his palms together and faced Leon.

"Well, pictures aren't enough. Mikayla is too adorable for words. I gotta see her myself." He gave a small smile, expectantly waiting for Leon to lead the way.

Leon blinked, snorted, and gestured to the door. "Okay. Let's go."

**..:-X-:..**

**117 – A Message at the End of the World**

"Maybe it crashed. Satellites have been known to do that."

Cid grunted, "Yeah, but they need something to crash INTO for that to happen."

The computer in Merlin's house was set to split screen. The active screen was a map of the farthest edges of the Alliance's domain, denoting the different worlds that fell under the umbrella of the intergalactic organization. The secondary screen was a live video feed of Beverly, who had logged onto her computer from the office in her bar in Traverse Town.

"Did the batteries run out?" She suggested.

Cid fought and lost the fight against rolling his eyes. "No." He squinted at the map. "It's not as though the satellite isn't working or has been de-activated. It's just…not there."

In the side screen box, Beverly lifted an eyebrow. "Like…destroyed?"

Cid rubbed the back of his neck, pulling up a third screen and scrolling through the log data from the satellite's last transmission. "The transcripts from its last feedback don't indicate any encounters or attacks, no malfunctions, not even a damn glitch. One moment it was working fine, and then the next, poof, gone outta fuckin' space."

"Does that happen often?"

"That NEVER happens." Cid grumbled, clicking on the last video file that the satellite sent to Radiant Garden.

The file opened in a new window, pixelating slightly as it morphed into a recording of the vastness of space outside the Alliance's domain. It wasn't as though the Alliance spanned across the entire galaxy, though some of the higher ups would've liked to think that. There were several undiscovered worlds out there beyond the Alliance's reach. Some were untouched by Heartless, some were ravaged by Heartless, and some Cid had no idea of because they had never made contact with them.

The best the Alliance could do with the resources at its disposal was to monitor the very edges of Allied territory and protect all of the worlds that fell within that perimeter, and try their damnedest to aid any outside worlds that asked for it. Several dozen reconnaissance and monitoring satellites had been stationed across the edges of their system, continuously gathering data and jettisoning it back to Allied Headquarters in Radiant Garden. It was an arduous and painstaking process that Cid saw the value of, but would also never want to be involved in. They had enough damn problems keeping their corner of the galaxy safe, let alone the rest of the fucking universe, but if that was what it took…

The star studded void of space on the video file buzzed slightly with static and abruptly jarred as though being jostled. Cid frowned and re-focused on the feed. The audio sync with the video hummed. The stars remained still, bound to their constellations. Something flickered at the edge of the video.

"Cid—" Beverly started.

Cid hushed her with a raised hand, eyes glued to the screen.

All of the stars on the left hand side of the video abruptly vanished, followed by a deep, guttural groan that flooded out from the speakers on the computer. Then, just as abruptly, the stars from the middle of the video to the right side disappeared also. The groan shot up several octaves into a high-pitched screeching, like claws dragging cross corrugated steel, and the video suddenly cut off, ending with a jolt.

For a beat, Cid stared at the blank window, almost waiting for something else. When nothing else followed, he immediately rewound the footage and re-watched it. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end at the second hearing of the disembodied noise, and he paused the video, sitting back slightly, perplexed.

"Cid, what is it?" Beverly asked. "What's wrong?"

Cid blinked, looking at her live feed. She was frowning and looked worried. He rolled one shoulder and got his bearings back, sitting forward. "Nothing, just this weird ass video the satellite kicked out before it vanished."

"Oh? What was on it?"

"I'm going to have to call you back." He clicked into the satellite video, isolating the fragment of groans and shrieks and dragging them into a separate file.

"Wait, tell me what it was—" She said.

"Maybe later. I gotta show this to somebody." He ended the webchat, copied the file onto a detachable drive, and closed the other windows, snatching up the drive and leaving Merlin's house.

Monitoring and recon fell under his and Yuffie's mutual jurisdiction, though her department tended to focus on a world-by-world basis. Between the two, they had quite a few brainy types bouncing around a room analyzing all of this data. They hadn't gotten wind of this information yet or he would have gotten a phone call. So he would have to take it to them.

Cid stomped purposefully across town to the headquarter building, snapping out a cigarette to calm his nerves. His hands were shaking. He felt rattled, and he cursed as he shook the tremble out of his hands.

He had only ever heard that eerie, ominous groan once before, when he and the others on the original Restoration Committee had fled Radiant Garden nearly 15 years ago. The sound had haunted him for months afterward. He had never heard that screech before. It was new.

New in the unknown chasm of space was rarely good.

**..:-X-:..**

**118 – Last Will and Testament**

Tifa smiled, sitting on the floor of the living room and leaning against the front of the sectional couch. Mikayla was lying on her back on the blanket beside Tifa, staring up at her mother with wide, curious eyes and kicking her legs out occasionally.

"Hello." Tifa chimed, reaching down and rubbing her hand over the baby's chest. "Hi there, Mikayla. What are you up to today?"

Mikayla cooed, opening and closing her mouth before casting her eyes up to the rotating ceiling fan. Tifa giggled and poked at the two month old's chubby cheeks lovingly.

"I could just eat you up." She murmured, leaning in and bopping her nose against Mikayla's belly. "Nomnomnomnom."

Mikayla squealed and wiggled on her blanket as Tifa sat up.

"You should really take a break." Tifa addressed Leon, who was sitting on the recliner beside the sectional, poring over a file and scribbling on it every so often.

"I can't." He didn't look up. "What if we get hit by a meteor?"

"Doubtful." Tifa canted her head, letting Mikayla wrap her entire hand around Tifa's index finger, squeezing it.

"There're still car wrecks, Gummi crashes, missions themselves could fill a book on accidental death." Leon rubbed his forehead.

Mikayla hummed in her throat, her eyes flitting over at the sound of Leon's voice. Tifa's heart nearly exploded at the sight, but she kept her composure.

"I thought we agreed," She commented. "That, in the event of our untimely deaths, everything we own would be sent to the Radiant Garden donation center, save for a few sentimental items, which we already went over…" She glanced at the clock on the wall. "…three hours ago."

"I know." Leon exhaled. "That just leaves the house and the munchkin."

"Hwah!" Mikayla cooed.

"Oh no." Tifa gave a dramatic gasp, looking from Mikayla to Leon, "She senses it."

"No." Leon pointed at her. "No, she doesn't."

"She is using her baby powers." Tifa picked Mikayla up under the arms. "She's sensing…she's sensing…" She stood, weaving the baby through the air like a probe before squaring her at Leon. "She's sensing unnecessary stress levels!"

Leon was trying to glare at her, but with Mikayla's giggly self between them, he couldn't manage it.

"Mikayla to the rescue!" Tifa swooped down, depositing the baby in Leon's arms. "Behold, as she makes all those scary thoughts..." She waved her arms like a performing magician. "…vanish!"

Leon held Mikayla, shaking his head at Tifa. "That's a dirty trick."

"But effective." Tifa added, noting that the last will and testament papers had been set aside so he could accommodate the little girl.

Mikayla made a light noise in her throat, staring up at Leon with those big eyes. Leon seemed to deflate, sitting back in the chair and shifting his hold on her. Tifa triumphantly sat down on the couch, glancing at the papers.

"They're not unnecessary worries." Leon prompted. "We have to think about what we want for Mikayla if something happens to both of us."

Tifa sighed. "I know." She pursed her lips and paused for a beat. "How about Aerith and Cloud as godparents?"

Leon glanced across the room in thought. "Maybe."

"Aerith is great with kids, and, let's face it, she and Cloud are going to get married and grow old together even if it takes them another decade to admit it." She said.

Leon tilted his head in passive agreement.

"And Cloud is great with kids too." At Leon's flat look, Tifa lifted a hand. "Don't look at me like that. He is, you've seen it, and he loves Mikayla half to death as it is."

"Mrph." Leon grunted, slumped further in his seat, and looked down at Mikayla.

She stared right back up at him, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. He stuck his tongue out at her. Mikayla formed an O with her mouth, her own tongue pushing at her lips, trying to mirror him. Leon smiled at her attempt, and she waved her arms. Tifa discretely lifted her phone and snapped off a picture of the sight.

"I'm going to label that one 'death by adorableness.' I'm getting a real collection of those." She mused aloud, before standing with a sigh. "All right, gimme, gimme." She held out her arms and wigged her fingers.

"No." Leon whined, "Whatever you need to do with her, I'll do it."

"I need to feed her." Tifa quirked an eyebrow. "Are you currently lactating?"

Leon groaned and surrendered the infant. Tifa snickered as she sat back on the couch, holding Mikayla steady as the baby gurgled at her.

"Did you say death by adorableness?" He asked belatedly. "How is that even possible?"

"Hwah!" Mikayla cooed in Tifa's arms.

Tifa swiveled her head to Leon. He dramatically clutched a hand to his chest, grimaced in mock pain, and abruptly went slack, playing dead. Tifa shook her head and left him to it.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **Again with the Project Stasis references. I fully intend to write a short oneshot or two-chapter fic that will serve as a broad overview of the Mercy Trilogy (_Ask Mercy Not of Me_, _Lay Down the Salt Lines_, and _Silver Bullet to the Heart_), so that those who haven't read it don't get confused or irritated, as the events in that trilogy will factor moderately in upcoming stories. Said explanatory short story might take a while though, so please bear with me! Or, if you have time or interest, read the trilogy…or not (shrugs). I'll stop with the rambling now…

**Preview for next week:** _The surveillance and monitoring subsection of the Alliance was nestled in one of the lower levels of the headquarter building, several stories underground and teeming with scientists and analysts who were constantly bustling around, keeping the outer spatial perimeters of the Alliance secure._


	41. Contact

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**119 – Hell Breaks Loose**

Yuffie had her eyes pinched closed, hands on either side of the headphones encompassing her ears, frowning slightly as she listened to the recording from the satellite video. Aerith had already listened to it close to a dozen times over the past week, and she nibbled on her fingernail as she watched Yuffie's reaction.

When the recording ended, the younger woman plucked the headphones off and gave a short shake of her head. "Whew, that'll give you the heebie jeebies."

The surveillance and monitoring subsection of the Alliance was nestled in one of the lower levels of the headquarter building, several stories underground and teeming with scientists and analysts who were constantly bustling around, keeping the outer spatial perimeters of the Alliance secure. Any and all anomalies in surveillance were logged and studied somewhere in this department.

There were rows and rows of computer stations and isolated cubicles forming a catacomb of work blocs across the floor, and half a dozen massive screens were mounted on the walls, depicting running matrices of data and charts that made Aerith dizzy trying to interpret. It felt downright Big Brother down here.

The central mounted screen was currently showing the audio curves of the noises caught on the lost satellite's video feed. The line was practically flat starting from the left, but as it moved to the latter half on the right end, it abruptly spiked up and violently see-sawed across the chart before dropping back to flat at the far right end. The department had been running amok since Cid had brought the data to them, subjected to uncountable tests and measurements as they tried to figure out what in Kingdom Hearts had happened.

"I am NOT jealous of the squad that went out to find the satellite." Yuffie quipped, setting the headphones aside. "Did they find anything?"

"Diddly squat." A female scientist with ginger hair replied, bending over her work station. She straightened. "No debris, no energy trails, nada. It's like the satellite was just swallowed or pulled into a black hole or something."

Aerith touched her chin, mentally replaying the noise. "It sounded too…I don't know. It wasn't organic; or at least I've never heard any living creature make that noise."

"Heartless technically aren't organic." Yuffie pointed out.

"But Heartless aren't immune to the vacuum of space." Aerith countered. "Even they have to use some kind of transport. Nobodies—"

"—don't travel by space." Yuffie cut in. "They just…loiter around in whatever world that they spawned in. They don't travel like Heartless do."

The scientist adjusted her lab coat. "Heartless are bred from the essence of Darkness. They're composed of Dark Matter, or what you might call the opposite of true matter. They exist on a separate plane than humans and animals."

"Then how come they don't explode when they contact real people?" Yuffie pried.

"That's why this department exists." The woman said with a small smile. "To answer those questions."

Aerith rubbed her neck. "So, if it's not Heartless or Nobodies, what else is out there?"

The scientist pursed her lips, as though to stop herself from voicing her thoughts.

Aerith lifted her eyebrows. "What's your theory?"

The scientist chewed the side of her lip before pressing her palms together in front of herself. "This department has been developing a new theory on the existence of Light and Darkness. It's entirely hypothetical, all of our evidence is circumstantial and requires a tremendous amount of assumption and…filling in the gaps."

"Basically, it's a crap theory?" Yuffie smirked.

The scientist looked ruffled but continued. "We think that the realms of Light and Darkness are not theoretical planes of existence, but rather that they're tangible. We believe that, given the proper equipment and time frame, a human being could push beyond the fabric of this plane and breach the realm of pure Light and Darkness."

Aerith paused, digesting that. She had been experimenting for months on the dynamics of the essence of a world's heart. She had managed to even summon it and bend it to her will when it gave her permission to do so…because the heart of a world was sentient, she had concluded.

"Are you suggesting that Light and Darkness are self aware?" She prompted.

Both the scientist and Yuffie looked at her at that.

"I…" The scientist hummed lightly. "I'm not sure I would phrase it like that, but it wouldn't be so far-fetched. Conscience and consciousness aren't my area; I'm more specialized in detecting the matter."

Aerith swallowed. This could potentially open all kinds of doors regarding what they understood about the realm of Kingdom Hearts. If the forces of Light and Darkness could be physically contacted, or even manipulated…not to even broach the subject of whether those essences were self aware…How would the Alliance even fight something like that?

"So…" Yuffie canted her head. "Is the satellite in Hell now?"

The scientist snorted, breaking Aerith's thought process. "Again, not exactly my field."

"Hmph." Yuffie tutted, "I'mma listen to it again."

She snatched up the headphones, and Aerith glanced toward the screen again. What had they found? More importantly…what had found them?

**..:-X-:..**

**120 – Wash Your Hands of It**

"Wonderland." Cloud read aloud, lifting his eyes from the transfer paperwork to look at the soldier sitting across the desk from him.

Private Mindy Tallman shifted in her seat, hands twisting together in her lap. "Yes."

"Wonderland." He muttered again, trying to search her eyes for explanation.

"Yes." She repeated.

Cloud pursed his lips and glanced down her paperwork a second time. She had flown through basic training, come close to breaking several standing records at combat and weapons proficiency, and showed real promise as a tactician or field strategist. She was clearly bred for the battlefield, or at the very least a hot zone that needed mediators and quick thinkers…but she was electing to be transferred to the bizarre, nonsensical world of Wonderland?

"You've been assigned to Yuffie Kisaragi's department." He informed. "You're not in the system yet, but even without the red tape, you're not mine to transfer anymore."

She looked disheartened, "I know. I mean…I'm glad…to be in that department. It's just…" She shifted again, "I need to get out of here." She looked at him pleadingly. "I think I would be better utilized outside of Radiant Garden."

"You don't think you're cut out for this place?" He asked rhetorically.

"No, it's not that—" Her pride was kicking in. "I just—"

"You're afraid of having another public altercation with Tabaeus McCallister."

Tallman seemed to shrink into herself. "Wonderland is illogical, inconsistent, and as far from structured as any world can get: she'd never voluntarily go there."

Cloud studied her for a silent moment. He understood where she was coming from, but it still irked him that she was basically ruining her chances as a start-up in Radiant Garden because of some feud between her and another soldier that she might only occasionally bump into.

"Take it from me, you'll want a better reason than that to leave." He remarked. "Otherwise you're just running away from a problem, and trust me, that's no reason."

Tallman looked contemplative for a beat before nodding once. "I understand, but I still would like to be transferred out of Radiant Garden. Please. Sir." She tacked on.

Cloud frowned and sat back in his seat. "Why did you come to Radiant Garden?"

She stared at him. "To join the Alliance."

"Why?"

"To…make a difference. To help people. To fight evil."

"Why?" He pressed.

"Because…I've never done anything else." She made a vague, frustrated gesture. "I was tired of feeling…mundane and…Life back home felt tedious and hum-drum."

"Why now?"

She was getting flustered and gave a jerky shrug. "I don't know. I just…saw something in the newspaper one day, talking about the Alliance and the war effort and…there was recruitment information and…her name popped up." Another vague gesture. "I don't know."

Cloud stared at her for a vague beat and then grunted and shuffled her paperwork back into the file. "Fine."

She straightened, caught off guard. "Sorry?"

"I'll send the papers through to Yuffie's department with the transfer recommendation." He replied.

Tallman stood. "Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed." He waved her out absently.

Tallman looked uncertain for a moment, opening and closing her mouth before turning and leaving his office.

Cloud set her file aside, but he didn't immediately pick up the next one in line. The latest batch of recruits had finished their basic training, and now he had to sort them all concretely into their departments. Some were easier than others. Some were pains in the ass. The heads of the department got primary dibs that superseded the individual soldier's preferences, but most wound up where they were best suited.

The whole Tallman-McCallister shitstorm was a mess that he had avoided thusfar and was happy to be rid of. He honestly didn't care what had gone sour between the two women; it was history and in the past. Aside from the small skirmish, McCallister hadn't let it interfere with her daily work. Clearly Tallman wasn't quite so apathetic. So while Cloud wasn't enthusiastic about recommending Tallman's transfer away from Radiant Garden, if she couldn't give a better reason other than avoiding the other woman, he would just let her go quietly. It was no skin off his nose.

Another round of new recruits would be arriving within the week. He groaned and glared at the remaining files on his desk. It was either finish going through these files or go home and clean up the mess of his research on Radiant Garden's history and documented time travel.

Neither sounded appealing, but he begrudgingly tugged the recruit files toward him, pulling open the next soldier's documentation.

**..:-X-:..**

**121 – Reset**

Tabaeus was the first to arrive at the Weapons Specialist Department that morning. This had slowly become the norm since Commander Leonhart's daughter was born. Not that she minded; when her superior officer did come in, he never looked like he had gotten much sleep.

She hung up her jacket just as the night shift put their jackets on, leaving when she arrived. She was early, so she spent a few minutes moving about the department, picking up anything that was where it shouldn't be and making sure the copy room was well stocked. By the time she brewed her second cup of coffee for the morning, a few other soldiers were trickling in to start their day.

Her cubicle was at the end of the row farthest from the department entrance and closest to Commander Leonhart's closed office door. A stack of demanding paperwork was glaring up at her out of her inbox, and she glared back at it, booting up her computer and sitting down at her work station. A blob of bright orange caught the corner of her eye.

Glancing over, she saw a crisply folded paper crane made out of orange paper resting beside her desk phone. She stilled, staring at it. She hadn't folded any paper cranes since Jake had filled her apartment with 1,000 of them. Where had this one come from? What was it doing here? Who had—

With a frown, she plucked the paper crane up and turned it a few times, inspecting it. Sure enough, there was writing in black marker on the underside of one wing. It was Jake's loopy handwriting: _Go on a date with me?_

Tabaeus stared at the six words. He got points for persistence. She pursed her lips and set the crane down, folding her arms and staring at it for a long moment. Jake seemed to have developed this belief in a Reset Mode, as though they could just start over and ignore that awkward situation from a few weeks earlier. He clearly wanted to get back together, and it wasn't that Tabaeus didn't, it was just…

Had they ever been 'together?' What did that mean? Had they actually been dating or a couple? Was there a certain point, a certain number of dates or romantic encounters that you had to reach before two people qualified as officially dating? If they had been together, had those few weeks of not talking qualified as breaking up? Or just a break? Or—

"Ugh." She groaned, rubbing her temples.

With a huff, she snatched up her desk phone and dialed his cellphone. It rang several times and almost clicked over to voicemail before he picked up.

"Lo?" was his garbled greeting.

"When were you at my desk?" She replied.

He made a low, confused noise. "Tabs?"

She deadpanned, "Your little invitation doesn't list a date or a time. How am I supposed to know if I'm free to go on a date?"

"Um…It's…" He mumbled, sounding like he'd just been woken up. "Do you have any idea what time it is? It's…It's seven o'clock."

"Exactly. Far too early to be getting confused about dates." She said, flustered.

"Wait, wait." She heard him shuffling out of bed. "You said you needed to make sure you were free…So that's a yes?"

Oh, jeez, she could practically hear him grinning.

"You…" Her face warmed and she was glad for the high walls of her cubicle. "You think you're so clever…The paper crane was a bit over the top."

"I thought it was romantic." He quipped.

"You still didn't answer my question. When were you at my desk? Did you have somebody plant this for you?" She lifted the paper crane again idly.

"Nope, I snuck in during the night shift."

"Snuck in…This is a high security building. This is the headquarters of the Alliance, and you just 'snuck in'?" She blinked.

"I am the black panther!"

"You're an idiot." She snorted.

"You still haven't said no." He returned to the matter at hand. "Is that a yes?"

"You still haven't told me when or where." She huffed.

"I'm flexible." He prompted. "Anytime, anywhere. Whatever works for you, works for me." He paused. "I just winked…but I realize you can't see me, so imagine me winking."

"Fine."

"You didn't imagine it, did you?"

"No."

"Is that a yes?"

Tabaeus smiled despite herself. "Yes." She glanced back and saw that Commander Leonhart had arrived and was unlocking his office; he looked miffed. "I have to go."

"Okay. Call me later when it's—I'll call you when it's actually day time. Who is voluntarily conscious at seven am? The Hell is wrong with you?"

"Goodbye, Jake." She replied, hanging up the phone.

She set the paper crane beside her computer. He did have a cute little wink though.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _Tifa had faced death a number of times, but this time felt different._


	42. Surprise Reaction

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake and Mikayla. Big hugs to everybody who continues to read this story! You guys are awesome. Enjoy the chapter.**

**..:-X-:..**

**122 – Shock to the System**

Tifa had faced death a ridiculous number of times, but this time felt different. It wasn't that it was unexpected, because she had been on the business end of a surprise attack before. It wasn't even that it was in the middle of Radiant Garden, because she'd fought Heartless in almost every sector of the world at some point. She had always handled it, had an instinct for it. That's what war did to people. But, when the stranger grabbed her in the middle of the store and jammed the barrel of a pistol against her neck, her body seemed to freeze in place.

"Everybody down!" The man was yelling, dragging her backwards as a human shield. "Close the doors. Get on the floor!" He ordered.

Panic erupted across the store and several people fled through the exits. The man lifted the gun and fired one warning shot into the ceiling, repeating his command to lock down the doors and get on the floor. The remaining civilians, now hostages, shakily complied, and he released Tifa, shoving her away slightly as he paced toward the registers.

Tifa staggered once and regained her balance, feeling her heart lodged in her throat and her lungs constricted.

"Hey." Someone touched her elbow and she jerked, turning to see Jake Alms there, white as a sheet. "You okay?"

She gaped and rubbed the spot on her neck where the gun had poked her. She cleared her throat and said hoarsely, "Fine."

The stranger was yelling at the employees, having them empty the registers into a trash bag. Tifa shook herself and looked to the civilians hunkered on the floor, some crying and some in shock. Someone outside would have heard the warning shot, and the people who had escaped would be calling the authorities. She looked back to the criminal, unsure what his plan was and unable to quell that deep-seated terror that was swimming unwelcome through her stomach.

The man with the gun turned and saw Tifa and Jake still on their feet. He gruffly aimed the pistol at them again. "I said GET DOWN!"

Tifa lifted her hands in an attempt to pacify him, but her knees were locked. "We're not threatening you. What are you planning to do with us?"

"Shut up, bitch." He barked, looking wild. "And get down on the ground or I'll put you on the ground myself."

He wasn't bluffing, and even if he was, she didn't trust his uncontrolled flailing.

"Okay," She started to kneel. "But the police will be showing up any second now, not to mention this is the middle of Radiant Garden. You're not going to get away easi—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" The man advanced in two quick strides, pulling the hammer back on his pistol as he aimed it at her face.

"No!" Jake suddenly slid between Tifa and the gunman. "Don't. She—she's a mother." He had his hands raised, but his body was shaking visibly all over. "She has a child. She's a mother. Please." He repeated in a mantra.

Tifa reached up and grabbed a handful of the back of Jake's shirt. "Jake, stop."

"You want to play hero, little boy?" The man sneered. "You need to just—"

A red dot of light appeared on the man's chest. Everyone immediately noticed it, and the gunman looked down at the spot before following its trajectory out the window.

"This is Radiant Garden police department." A voice came over a megaphone. "Lower your weapon and release the hostages."

"Shit." The man muttered, but kept his gun trained on Jake's chest. "Fuckin' police." He glared back at the other hostages and then to Jake and Tifa. "Damn piece of—"

Three things happened simultaneously then. A gunshot exploded across the store. Jake collapsed to his knees. The gunman jerked sideways and toppled to the floor. As the glass from the broken window scattered across the floor from the sniper's shot, Tifa scrambled to her feet and saw the bleeding hole in the gunman's chest and the red stain spreading on the store floor. She hastily moved around so that she was facing Jake. He was doubled over, arms wrapped around his torso, head bowed, and shaking violently.

"Jake." She grasped his shoulders. "Jake, look at me. Hey." She pulled him upright and shuffled his arms away from his chest. "Let me see…Jake."

There was no wound, no blood, she found. He wasn't hit. She exhaled in relief and cupped his face in her hands, coaxing him into looking at her. He seemed to be in shock.

"You're okay." She told him. "You're fine. You're all right. You're okay."

Police were rushing into the store now, ushering out the hostages, and making sure that the gunman had been alone in his attempt. The criminal was dead from the single shot to the chest. Tifa let them escort her out of the store after she managed to get Jake on his feet. Once outside, the distant wails of sirens announced oncoming ambulances to tend to the traumatized victims.

Tifa noticed that her hands were still shaking, and when someone suggested that she sit down, she didn't fight them. What had happened to her in there? She should have dropped that guy like a rock and immobilized him. Instead, she had frozen, her mind had been completely blank except for what Jake had pleaded to the man: she was a mother. She couldn't leave her daughter motherless. That could have easily happened today.

As that realization sank in, Tifa lifted her hands to her face and tried to pull herself together. Her hands continued to tremble.

**..:-X-:..**

**123 – Count Your Blessings**

A large, curious crowd had gathered around the crime scene when Leon arrived. Yuffie had been across the street from the store when the first shot was fired, and she had called him immediately after seeing Tifa through the window. He had rushed to the scene minutes later, as the police were carting out the body bag and medics were tending to the released hostages.

Tifa was sitting on a low wall away from the commotion, eyes downcast, despondent. He beelined toward her.

"Tifa." He blurted as he reached her.

She started slightly, lifting her head and meeting his eyes. As soon as she did, the despondence shattered and she squinted as she stood. "Hey."

"Thank God." He swept her up in his arms and held her close.

He felt her tremble lightly against him, and he rubbed his hands across her back. "Are you okay?" He asked, keeping his voice level.

"Fine." She straightened as they withdrew from the embrace. "It's…I'm fine." She lifted a hand to the side of her head, nonplussed.

"I heard there was just one gunman, and he only fired a warning shot." He said, keeping his hands gently at her elbows.

She nodded corroboratively, meeting his gaze again. "I froze."

He blinked. "What?"

"I…solid. I froze solid, Leon. We've been fighting in this war for over ten years. I've had every conceivable weapon aimed at me, and I froze." She looked confused and upset. "If it hadn't been for Jake, that man would have shot me and I would have done nothing about it."

Pain cramped through Leon's chest at her words, but he shoved it down.

"But he didn't shoot at you. You're okay. We'll figure everything else out later." When she gave a vague nod, he coaxed her into a gentler embrace.

Looking over her head, he spotted Jake Alms giving a statement to the police, a shock blanket around his shoulders and a paper bag in his hands. He was pale and looked like he was between hyperventilating and being sick. Seeing the cocky young man so shaken was odd. Leon never forgot that Jake wasn't part of the militarized Alliance, but it was still strange to suddenly remember that Jake was 100 percent civilian.

"Where—" Tifa straightened again, regaining herself. "Where's Mikayla?"

"Aerith has her." He answered swiftly. "She's at Cloud's apartment."

Relief crashed through Tifa's features, and she exhaled. "Okay."

She wasn't just rattled. She had been deeply shaken by the events of the afternoon, Leon realized. She was right; she had been subjected to immeasurable levels of warfare against the darkness. A lone man with a gun shouldn't have affected her like this. Then again, Leon had seen her in action against immeasurable forms of warfare, he knew what she was capable of, but he felt almost as shaken at the idea of someone aiming a gun at her. And it was for the same reason that Tifa looked so relieved now.

Mikayla.

He and Tifa weren't just taking their futures in their hands now every time they were in danger. They were bargaining with Mikayla's future. Suddenly, with every mission, every off-world assignment, every patrol shift, there was a chance that Mikayla might be motherless or fatherless. That put a lump in his throat. If that had hit Tifa in that moment, then it was no wonder that she had been immobilized by it. The thought was terrifying.

Tifa suddenly sighed, looking exhausted. "Let's pick her up and go home."

Leon bobbed his head once and then paused. "You need sleep."

She snorted ruefully and rubbed her forehead.

He gave her a once-over. "No, you really need sleep, Tifa." A beat passed, and he glanced toward the police and back to Tifa. "Why don't we go home, and let Aerith keep an eye on Mikayla tonight?"

Tifa's head shot up. "But…no…we—"

"I know, we haven't spent a night away from her yet." He grasped her shoulders. "But you need to get a solid night's sleep. Aerith already volunteered, she has a supply bag, and it's Aerith: Mikayla will be fine without us for one night." He looked to Tifa sincerely, "Are you okay with this?"

Tifa looked far from okay with it, but she also seemed to acknowledge that she was in no condition to argue. "All right. ONE night. I want her home immediately in the morning. Where is she staying? Are you sure Aerith has the right supplies?"

"Yes." Leon guided her away from the crowd. "She was at Cloud's earlier; I assume she's staying there tonight."

Tifa snapped off several more questions as they navigated through the people, and Leon answered as concisely as he could. He made a note to suggest that she take a sleep aid before going to bed. He knew a night away from Mikayla would be stressful for them both, but given the strain of the day, it would be better for all three of them to get an unbroken night of rest.

On the way out, he made eye contact with Jake Alms, whom Yuffie had stationed herself beside almost protectively. Jake looked concerned. Leon gave the man a level nod of thanks, which Jake awkwardly mimicked. Leon wasn't sure what Jake had done in there, but if it had kept Tifa and himself alive, then Leon could only be grateful.

**..:-X-:..**

**124 – Keeper**

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know. We do. Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah. Yes. I know." Cloud was saying into his phone with growing impatience.

Aerith beamed at the little makeshift crib that she had created. It was secure and it was comfortable, and Mikayla had taken quite easily to it, as the baby was currently snoozing away. Aerith felt all giddy inside as she looked down at the little girl, though that giddiness was tempered by how Leon and Tifa were holding up, considering that Cloud had been on the phone with Leon for nearly twenty minutes, repeating the same words over and over again.

"We do. Yes. Yeah. I know. I KNOW. Dude." Cloud eventually snapped, making eye contact with Aerith. "We have it under control. Go to bed, man." He instructed, then, "Of course I'm keeping my phone on. Fine." He finally hung up.

Aerith offered a small smile, sitting up. "Everything okay?"

"Tifa's sleeping." Cloud replied, tossing his phone on the couch. "He said she's having a rough time of it. He didn't sound too good either, to be honest."

Aerith frowned, "You think they're okay? Should we—"

"We're watching Mikayla." He said. "That's what they need us to do right now. They're adults; they'll be fine in the morning." He grimaced. "Which I promised to call them first thing in the morning and take her home."

"Oh." Aerith swatted at his murky attitude. "Don't even pretend you're annoyed."

"When she starts crying at 3 am, I won't be pretending." He declared.

"Then I'LL get up and take care of her." Aerith puffed out her chest.

"Deal." He offered a hand and she shook it as though sealing a contract.

Aerith stretched lightly in her seat, and Cloud stood.

"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." He announced, looking down at the sleeping Mikayla. "Do whatever you want."

From anybody else, that would have sounded callous and off-putting, but Aerith had learned to decipher between what Cloud meant and how it sounded. He was so painfully cautious of sounding too affectionate or presumptive that he tended to wind up with his foot in his mouth. She let it slide, but as he left the room, her eyes drifted back to Mikayla.

"Uncle Cloud's a little strange sometimes." She advised the sleeping baby. "But he's a keeper, I think." She smiled. "I know."

Aerith spent another hour making sure that the little crib was as safe and secure as possible and that the infant was comfortable. When she finally stood and stretched the kinks out of her shoulders and knees, she was reminded how late it actually was. Stifling a yawn, she made her way into the bedroom of the apartment.

She had spent the night with Cloud several times since their relationship grew serious. She had a drawer here at his apartment and everything. Likewise, he had stayed over at her apartment too, though Rinoa gave Aerith a playfully hard time about it, often teasing that the two of them should just get their own apartment.

That thought cartwheeled into Aerith's mind as she climbed into bed with Cloud. He was splayed out on his stomach, already lost to the world, and she tutted lightly to herself as she got comfortable. She wound up lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. The thought had crossed her mind a few times: the idea of her and Cloud living together. She spent enough time here that it almost made more sense than living with Rinoa. Not to mention that Aerith and Rinoa, while they got along perfectly well, weren't really compatible as roommates and didn't hang out socially. There was also the fact that Piper the cat hated everyone, with a specific loathing for Rinoa, but he tolerated Cloud to the point of almost being affectionate.

"Are you awake?" Aerith whispered, just loud enough to catch a conscious ear.

A beat passed. Cloud grunted half heartedly.

Aerith turned to look at him and could only see the back of his head, his hair half dry from the shower and slightly poofy. She fidgeted a little.

"I think we should move in together." She exhaled in a whispered rush.

Another beat passed.

" 'kay." Was his grunted, semi-conscious response.

Aerith blinked at him. "Are you sure you're awake?"

"…'kay." He grunted again.

She sighed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. The two of them, sharing a bed and watching a baby. That almost sounded like they were grown ups. Yuffie was right: it felt like they weren't old enough for this. Then again, Aerith wasn't sure when they had been old enough for anything. Most of their teenage years had been stolen from them by the Heartless. They had never had time for reckless abandon or teenage rebellion; they had been too preoccupied with staying alive.

Now here they were, adults, doing adult things and having adult lives, and it made her feel giddy. Beside her, Cloud's breathing had deepened and evened out, signaling that he had completely fallen asleep at that point. She snorted to herself. He would have no recollection of her earlier question, which was probably a good thing.

Maybe she'd ask him again tomorrow when he had his faculties…and he could freak out fully. Or…who knew…maybe he'd still be on board with it. She smiled to herself and started to get more comfortable. Her eyelids had just began to close when Mikayla's crying broke the silence. Aerith opened her eyes. It was going to be a long night.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _The morning after he agreed to keep an eye on Mikayla with Aerith for the night, Cloud awoke, meandered out into his living room, and found something unexpected._


	43. Change is Always Good

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**125 – Stepping Stones**

The morning after he agreed to keep an eye on Mikayla with Aerith for the night, Cloud awoke, meandered out into his living room, and found something unexpected. Or, rather, someone unexpected.

"Aerith." Cloud returned to the bedroom and poked her shoulder.

She mumbled something, curling up on her side. He poked her shoulder again.

"Aerith, wake up." He prodded.

"Mrph, what?" She rolled onto her back, opening her eyes blearily at him.

"Why is Tabaeus McCallister on my couch?" He asked flatly.

Aerith blinked up at him, her brows knit together, and she sat up enough to look through the doorway into the living room, where the soldier was lying across the couch, sleeping.

"Oh," Aerith sat up, rubbing her eyes. "She came over early this morning because Mikayla was crying, and she could hear it because her apartment is next door. Did you know that you live next door to Tabaeus McCallister?"

Cloud sighed and moved back toward the living room. "Yes."

"How did I not know that?" Aerith climbed out of bed and followed him. "I have literally never seen her anywhere in this building."

"She practically lives in Leon's department." Cloud mumbled, finding Mikayla squirming herself awake as well.

"What does her apartment look like?" Aerith asked, eying the sleeping soldier.

"I don't know." Cloud deadpanned, lifting up the two month old baby as she began to make unhappy noises. "Why did she come over?"

"Mikayla had been crying for over an hour. I tried everything." Aerith ran a hand through her hair. "Tabaeus volunteered to help. I guess she just fell asleep afterward." She squinted one eye, "What would her apartment even look like? It's weird to think about."

Cloud frowned and glanced at the soldier. "I'm uncomfortable with this."

"She's just sleeping." Aerith snorted.

"Exactly. I've never seen her do that. It's weird." Cloud muttered.

Aerith plucked some powdered formula from the supply bag and navigated into the kitchen to prepare it for Mikayla. The infant squirmed in his arms, and he shifted his hold on her. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, but he figured he should call Leon and Tifa to give them a morning report…or at least let them know he'd have Mikayla home soon. Unfortunately, he had left his phone on the couch, and McCallister was currently on said couch. He bit the inside of his cheek and faced Aerith.

"Can you—" He offered the baby.

"Of course." Aerith said musically, taking Mikayla.

Cloud stood behind the couch and glanced down. He could see the top of his phone, wedged between the soldier's back and the seat cushion. Gritting his teeth, he slowly reached down to wiggle it out.

"Were you serious?" He asked aloud, trying to avoid actually touching the woman.

"About?" Aerith chirped from the kitchen, feeding Mikayla from a bottle.

"Moving in together?" He sent a half glance over his shoulder, reaching for his phone.

She paused, returning the look. "I thought you were asleep."

"Then why'd you ask?" He grimaced as his fingertips brushed the phone casing.

A semi-awkward pause passed. Cloud couldn't say that the thought hadn't crossed his mind…or Hell, even occupied his mind for a while. The idea was strange to consider…but a good kind of strange. The fact stood, though, that if he had asked her to move in with him and she had declined, it would have been awkward. But she had asked, she had beaten him to it, so now he just felt like an idiot.

"I just—" She trailed away.

"I mean," Cloud blurted, figuring he had to save this situation. "My answer still stands." He could feel her staring at the back of his head and he finally got his fingers around his phone, slowly retracting it out from under McCallister. "Living together, I mean." He stammered, grunting when his phone wouldn't budge. "I would…I mean, it makes sense. You're…and I'm…Are you still asking?"

He started to turn to face her, but his phone abruptly started ringing. Loudly. He jumped slightly at the noise, and McCallister jerked out of sleep, rolling away from his arm and off the couch with a squawk.

"Ugh." She grunted, sitting up and rubbing her shoulder.

"Good morning to you too." Aerith smiled before looking to Cloud. "Yes, I'm still asking." She said coyly.

"Then…yes is still my answer." Cloud replied and then remembered to answer the phone, turning away from the disgruntled soldier. "Hey, Tifa. Yeah, we're up. She's fine. We'll bring her over within the hour."

He caught Aerith's smile out of the corner of his eye and stifled his own. That was it then. They were going to move in together. The idea muted whatever Tifa was saying.

**..:-X-:..**

**126 – Rebound**

In a span of 48 hours, Yuffie's stealth and recon department's productivity had skyrocketed. Mission turnover tripled, paperwork output increased by nearly double, and the soldiers in her program had gone from getting work done on a regular basis to practically climbing over themselves to complete their work ahead of time. The other departments in the Alliance quietly observed the drastic change with approval; while Yuffie's interns were not lazy or flaky by any means, they had never been quite this…intense.

A few soldiers from Leon's weapons specialist department, notorious for being workaholics and overachievers, felt pity for the poor souls. No one really knew what had sparked this sudden surge, not even the soldiers in the actual stealth and recon department. When asked, they would simply shake their heads and move past the inquirer, trying to get more work done.

It was like they were all scared shitless, Cid mused.

That wasn't what caused him concern. Hell, his aeronautics department was almost as laid back as Yuffie's interns, but damn if he didn't want to light a fire under them sometimes. What finally sparked his concern was when, after no one could find Yuffie, he finally discovered her in the last place he would have ever suspected: her office.

She wasn't just in her office. She was working in her office…on paperwork. She didn't even look up when Cid stepped into the room, too busy mulling over files and pecking her fingers at her laptop every so often. She looked tired and wan, like she hadn't left that office in a while. She looked like Leon had when he first became head of the weapons specialist department. Cid frowned but didn't say anything for a full minute, taking in the bizarreness of the situation. She was clearly upset about something, and it seemed like this was an outlet.

"When was the last time you went outside?" He prompted.

Yuffie shook her head slightly, closing one file and pushing it aside. "What do you want, Cid? I'm behind on these reports."

"And for some reason you care about that." Cid lifted an eyebrow. "Your interns are running around like chickens with their damn heads cut off. You're voluntarily—alarmingly—doing paperwork. You're pissed about something, too angry to even take it out on Heartless. Instead, you're hiding yourself away in your office. The fuck, woman?"

Yuffie huffed and dropped her pen to the desk, straightening in her seat and looking at him. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Bullshit." He folded his arms, leaning against the wall. "Spill it."

She scoffed and started to make a snappy retort, but her face abruptly fell and she cracked. "Trevor and I broke up."

Shit.

Cid inwardly flinched but remained outwardly impassive. "That sucks."

"He told me loved me." She lifted her hands. "What was I supposed to do with that?"

Ah, so she had been the dumper, rather than the dumpee. Not sure if that was better.

"Say it back?" He said sarcastically.

She ran both hands through her hair. "But I don't! And I realized that as soon as he said it." She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "All of a sudden things were getting serious, and it wasn't like I wasn't ready for things to get serious, but I wasn't ready for things to get serious with HIM. He's a great guy, Cid. He's nice and he's a goofball and he's sweet, and argh!" She made two fists. "I should have been in love with him. What is wrong with my wiring?"

Cid let her rant, but he stopped her there. "Ain't nothin' with you."

She fumed, glaring at her inbox. "And I'm not even sad that it's over. I broke his heart, Cid, but I feel…free. I'm…relieved. How sick is that? I should have—"

"Just because somebody is a good person doesn't mean you're obligated to fall in love with them." Cid interrupted.

It was bullshit to think that if someone was 'good' or 'sweet' or 'nice' that they were entitled to any kind of romantic feelings from someone else. Yuffie was beating herself up over nothing. She didn't owe Trevor anything. Sure, the man had been a pretty solid, stand up guy, but if it didn't fit, it didn't fit.

"Yeah, I guess." Yuffie slumped in her seat.

"But," Cid lifted a finger. "Just because you're having a crap week doesn't mean you have to put your entire department through Hell. What did you do to them?"

"Hm? Oh, that has nothing to do with this." Yuffie waved a hand. "Ol' Nestor got on my case last week about my reports being late. I tried to inspire my troops to up their game, but they were pretty lukewarm. So I…may have said that the last five soldiers to get their paperwork done for the week would be deployed on that upcoming two-week recon mission to Atlantica."

"Whoo." Cid exhaled and smirked. "That's mean." He held out his hand for a high-five.

Yuffie snorted ruefully and slapped her palm against his.

"Who are you to tell me not to put my interns through crap? Last year you tried to quit smoking for a week, and three of your soldiers are STILL in therapy." She pointed out.

"I said you didn't have to put them through Hell, not that you couldn't or shouldn't." After a beat, he continued. "You gonna be all right?"

"Pft, me? I'm…I'm the queen of all right." Yuffie gave a full body shrug. "In fact, I'm downright swell."

"Hm mhm." Cid quirked an eyebrow at her. "All right, Queen Swell. Might wanna talk to your troops. They're on the brink of ulcers out there."

**..:-X-:..**

**127 – Separation Anxiety**

"Moving in together. Wow." Tifa was honestly surprised. "That's big. Not unexpected, but still…He managed to spit out the question?"

Sitting across from her at the outdoor café, Rinoa snickered. "I heard she was the one who asked him if he wanted to live together."

Tifa snorted into her drink. "Sounds about right."

In her carrier on the table between them, Mikayla gurgled and kicked out her feet. Rinoa smiled and reached over, playing with the baby's little toes.

"Are you going to return to work?" She asked.

Tifa shifted, averting her eyes to her lunch. "Of course."

Rinoa noticed her discomfort at the topic. "Rephrase: do you WANT to return to work?"

Tifa met her eyes briefly, then looked to Mikayla, and sighed. "Yes. I still have a few weeks of maternity leave, but I've been itching to get back in the office, or back out on missions, or anything…But I can't take her to work with me every day. Before Mikayla was born, Leon and I were both always working around the clock. Neither of us can afford to constantly be taking afternoons or mornings off to stay with her…"

"You could hire a babysitter." Rinoa shrugged. "I'll be the first to volunteer on that front." She offered with a smile.

Tifa returned with a smaller smile but shook her head, "No. I don't—I don't want Mikayla to see more of a nanny or a babysitter than she sees her parents. I don't want to see her for a few hours every day after I get home from work. Besides, I feel like I'd just wind up being half productive at being a soldier and a mother…neither of which is acceptable."

Rinoa canted her head. "Sounds like a pickle." She toyed her fork through her pasta. "Have you talked to Leon about this?"

"Only for hours on end." Tifa smirked at Mikayla, who waved her little fists in response. "We both love her, but we both love our careers too. How are we supposed to make a decision?"

Rinoa looked thoughtful. "Well…Who says you can't take her to work with you? I've never seen a 'no babies' sign around the Alliance building. If your soldiers can handle war against the darkness, surely they can handle the most adorable little girl in the world."

"Ooh, how am I supposed to leave you?" Tifa murmured, reaching into the carrier and lifting Mikayla up. "It hurts just to speak it aloud."

She held her daughter in her arms and playfully mimicked Mikayla's cooing noises. Rinoa smiled across the table at the pair and took a sip from her lemonade.

"Are you getting any more sleep?" She asked.

The bags under Tifa's eyes were answer enough, and Tifa gave her a flat look that iterated that thought.

"Leon sleeps like…He used to be a light sleeper, but somehow he just doesn't hear her at night." She stated, rubbing Mikayla's back as the baby hiccupped.

Rinoa snorted. "Maybe he's just pretending."

"No, there's no pretending when she really puts her lungs into it." When Mikayla swiveled her head to look at her, Tifa gave her a wide eyed expression. "Yeah, we're talkin' 'bout you, little Miss Three AM."

"Yikes." Rinoa grimaced. "Every night?"

"More accurate than an alarm clock." Tifa chuckled. "Anyway, how are things on the entrepreneurial front?"

"They're not." Rinoa sighed. "Jake helped me get a part time job to cover bills and rent. How am I supposed to save money to start a business if I'm barely making ends meet?"

Tifa looked sympathetic. "It'll just take a little time." She fought back a yawn.

"Seriously, when was the last time you got a full night's sleep?" Rina moved back to the former topic of conversation.

"About a month before she was born." Tifa replied, shaking her head slightly to get rid of the residual yawn. "I don't know how Leon manages to do this AND full time missions."

Rinoa held her tongue, but there had been more than one occasion that she had gone to Leon's office to deliver paperwork and found him conked out behind his desk.

"I'm betting you could both use a solid eight hours." Rinoa observed.

"Tried that already," Tifa sighed. "I slept but I hardly rested; even knowing that Aerith and Cloud were watching her…It's hard." She looked to Mikayla lovingly as she set her back in her carrier.

"I've heard separation anxiety is rough." Rinoa lifted one shoulder. "But you'll have to cut that cord sooner or later. One day she'll be going to school, getting her driver's license, going on her first date—"

"Ugh, don't give me gray hair before my time." Tifa moaned, slumping in her seat.

Rinoa snickered, looking to the three month old infant. "Ooh, then college, and parties, and your own career. What do you think? Scientist? Martial artist? President?"

"Why do we hang out?"

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"One of the worlds on the outer rim of the Allied perimeter just disappeared."_


	44. Unconnected Dots

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. My OC Valerie Banks shows up in this story for the first time since AtSSoMC, so there's some language in this chapter due to her mouth. This chapter also brings to light some plot points that will have massive implications for later stories. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**128 – Inaccessible**

The old laboratory was just as dark and eerie as the last time that Aerith stepped foot in it. Nestled near the center of the old castle ruins, this was the same room where Sora had accessed the Heart of Radiant Garden, known then as Hollow Bastion, battled Xehanort through his friend Riku, and sacrificed himself to release the Seven Princesses of Heart. The old walls and floors still bore scars from those battles. Aerith could see scorch marks on the floor where Fire Spells had skidded across them. The low rails of the raised platform were scratched and dented where Keyblades had collided with them. The control panels and machines were dusty from disuse.

Silence rang loudly in the chamber, and Aerith found a strange solace in it. She had made her way across the entrance of the chamber, up the creaky stairs, and was currently standing in front of the gaping hole where the Heart's entrance had been less than five years earlier. She folded her arms across her chest as she surveyed that yawning chasm. There was nothing there now. The door was closed. The Heart was inaccessible. Sealed. Locked.

But was that a foolish notion? To believe that, even with a Keyblade, a person could lock away the Heart of an entire planet, seal it away, not only from the dangers of darkness, but from the curious eyes of those who walked in the Light?

Refracted light caught the corner of her eye, and Aerith glanced down from the hole in the wall. All along the bottom of the hole, rimming it like frost, was an accumulation of little glittering spots. Curiosity peaked, she stepped closer cautiously.

The glinting light turned out to be reflecting off the jagged tips of several crystalline blue-green stones that were rooted in the base of the locked Heart door. Her eyes narrowed in interest, and she knelt down in front of it. The stones almost resembled Mythril Shards, but there was something…ethereal about them…

"Careful." Merlin's voice chirped behind her.

Aerith started slightly and turned to see the wizened sorcerer heading up the stairs toward where she was. "Merlin…Hi. You startled me."

He offered a gentle smile, and his gaze slid from her face to the crystals. "What have you found here?"

She pursed her lips and followed his gaze to the stones. "I'm…not entirely sure. They just sort of showed up here. They don't look like any of the stones or materials used by the local shops to make magical items and accessories."

Merlin looked pensive as he slowly stepped past her, inspecting the crystal formations for himself. Something subtly but abruptly shifted in his demeanor as he got observed them, and Aerith picked up on it, taking a step closer.

"You know what these are." It was a statement, not a question.

Rather than answer right away, Merlin straightened, adjusted his robes and spectacles, and gazed up at the hole in the wall where the Heart of Radiant Garden had been sealed.

"Have you ever filled a container to the brim, too much to close it? A water bottle or a canister of some kind," He spoke thoughtfully. "Then, when you try to close it…"

"Excess spills out." Aerith answered as he trailed away. "But what does that have to do with—"

"When Sora sealed the door to Radiant Garden's heart," Merlin said, "some excess…spilled out." He looked at her measuredly.

Aerith stared at him for a moment before turning to look at the crystals again.

"Wait," She lifted a hand, "Are you suggesting that these crystals are physical manifestations of part of Radiant Garden's heart? That these pieces are just 'excess' that got amputated when Sora locked the door?"

Merlin tilted his head, "In a manner of speaking, I suppose so. Although I wouldn't say that it's been 'amputated.' Hearts are not like limbs. Separating a piece of it from the main body doesn't separate it permanently. It works like a collective."

Aerith's research had told her as much, and hearing him confirm it made her pause.

"How is that possible though? For some of a heart to just be…separated?"

Merlin looked weary. "That, my dear, is a question with a much longer answer than I was expecting to give today." He sighed. "You have been working with the undercurrent, yes?"

She knew how he disapproved of her research, but she stuck to her guns. "Yes."

"And that is part of Radiant Garden's heart: that spiritual river, that…lifestream if you will." He made a vague gesture. "You cannot seal away a planet's soul."

"Then what was the point of this?" She pointed to the yawning hole in the wall.

"That…" Merlin seemed to be weighing his words carefully. "…was a precaution."

He was being evasive, which was frustrating to no end, but Aerith knew that there would be no prying information out of Merlin if he didn't want to disclose it. She looked to the crystals again. She would need to study them. She had been working for months on accessing the collective sentience of the undercurrent of the Heart of Radiant Garden. It took extensive focus just to get a whisper from the…what had Merlin called it…lifestream. Yet, here was a tangible piece of the Heart, just…waiting.

Waiting for what?

"How does—" She turned, but Merlin had gone.

She was alone.

Then why could she hear whispers?

**..:-X-:..**

**129 – Out and About**

Merlin looked up from his spellbook when he heard the front door open, and he was pleasantly surprised to see first Tifa and then Leon walk into the house.

"Well, well, well." He chimed in greeting. "It's been a while since I last saw the two of you together in public."

Tifa smiled, though her eyes were tired. She gave a content shrug. "It was time. I was starting to forget what this guy looked like outside the setting of our house." She nudged Leon with her elbow.

He smirked. "Jake is watching her."

Merlin lifted an eyebrow, but he held his tongue. Jake Alms wouldn't have been his first choice in a babysitter of such a young child, but it wasn't his decision. He could tell that both of the new parents were greatly exhausted, probably due to the late nights, early mornings, full work days, and neverending attention that little Mikayla needed. He could see that it was really beginning to take its toll on the young couple.

"And instead of taking this opportunity to sleep, you've chosen to rejoin society." He chuckled. "Admirable."

"Sleep is for the weak." Tifa snorted.

"We were actually looking for Aerith. Have you seen her?" Leon asked.

Merlin paused. He hadn't seen Aerith since he had come upon her inspecting those crystals two days ago. He assumed that she was in the middle of researching the small stones, maybe even experimenting with them, against his wishes and against his warnings.

"Not today." He answered slowly. "What do you need?"

"Nothing urgent." Tifa remarked. "Just a quick question about something."

Merlin bobbed his head, "And what are you two up to now?"

Tifa looked enraptured at the idea. "Maybe just…a walk? Or even a—"

A cell phone rang in the middle of her sentence, and Tifa immediately cut herself off, grabbing at the phone in her pocket, pulling it out and answering it abruptly.

"Jake, what is it? Is she okay? What happened?" She barked.

Merlin raised his eyebrows, looking to Leon, who offered a weary shrug.

"We're working on it." He said, as Tifa angled away slightly to talk to Jake.

"You seem to be adjusting well to the idea of being away from Mikayla." Merlin offered.

"Tifa's been with her a lot more than I have." Leon replied lightly but with a slight grimace.

Tifa hung up the phone and walked back over to Merlin and Leon, looking flustered. "Jake can't get her to stop crying, says he's tried everything. We have to go home."

Leon smirked, putting an arm around her. "She's fine."

"But he doesn't know—" Tifa keened.

"Did he try the blue elephant?"

"Of course he tried Stormy, but she's not having it." Tifa was flustered.

Leon looked to Merlin for help.

Merlin chuckled and removed his spectacles. "Tifa, dear, you have nothing to worry about. Your anxiety is completely understandable, but I feel that it is entirely unfounded."

"Unfounded?" Tifa blinked. "You," She pointed to Merlin and then to Leon, "two have no idea. I have got woman's intuition AND maternal instincts—" She gestured to her torso. "—all jumbled up in here. It is constant warning bells up here." She pointed at her head.

Leon gave her shoulder a short rub. "All right. Raincheck on the walk. I need to grab some stuff here anyway."

Tifa sighed, almost in relief. "I'm sorry." She offered an apologetic smile and then hurried out the door, heading back home.

As the door closed after her, Leon looked to Merlin. "She lasted longer than I thought she would." He crossed over to the bookshelves to get 'some stuff.'

Merlin smiled gently. "She's been having a hard time being away from her."

Leon smirked and nodded once, picking up the books.

"And how about you?" Merlin asked.

Leon looked like he was fighting a yawn. "What about me?"

Merlin tutted. "I won't think any less of you if you go home too."

Leon paused, stared at Merlin for a steady three seconds, and then bolted for the door in his wife's wake with a hasty, "Thanks, Merlin."

The door swung closed after him, and Merlin snickered as he found himself alone again. It was only for a second, though, and then Yuffie was walking in through the same door.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" She chirped.

"Hopefully not at the Leonhart residence." Merlin snorted. "Jake is babysitting."

Yuffie blanched, leaned back out the door, and yelled after Leon. "RUN FASTER!"

**..:-X-:..**

**130 – A Land Without Sun**

A perk of the part-time job that Rinoa had managed to find was that it kept her in contact with the Alliance. She wasn't directly involved in anything; she was just a clerical worker down in the data archive warehouse. The point of the matter was that she more or less knew what was going on in every department.

And, that afternoon, every department was trying to react to the same thing.

"Slow down, slow down." Cid was barking into a phone, leaning forward over the control panel of the monitoring station in his department. "There's interference on the line."

Rinoa navigated through the throngs of hastily moving soldiers, files in her arms that Cid had requested. She bumped into one of Cid's top operatives, Major Valerie Banks, and decided she would be the best person to ask, since Cid was busy.

"What's going on?"

The lanky soldier frowned at her. "One of the worlds on the outer rim of the Allied perimeter just disappeared."

Rinoa inhaled sharply. "Heartless—"

"No, it's still there, but it just fucking disappeared." Banks explained with a vague hand gesture. "Communications, power output, even the 24/7 automated data streams. Just fuckin' poof." She snapped her fingers. "Sounds like Highwind's got ahold of somebody there."

"Is there an Allied base on that world? Which one was it?" Rinoa asked fearfully.

"Small base, just ten or so grunts. Never been any Heartless sightings ever reported. Now suddenly all this shit." Banks waved a hand. "Look, I gotta go. I'm taking the recon team out to figure out what the Hell happened."

As the woman shouldered past, Rinoa looked back over to Cid, approaching the control panel cautiously.

"All right, deep breaths. No need to panic." He was saying, in a surprisingly consoling tone. "I'm pulling you up on the screen."

He flicked a few buttons and the mother screen that hung across the main portion of the opposite wall staticked to life. It opened onto a darkened room, what looked like a common military base communications room to Rinoa, but the young woman in the middle of the screen looked anything but military.

She looked like she was in her late teens, with large, terrified green eyes and impossibly long, golden hair that tumbled over her shoulders, down her chest, and off screen. She was fidgeting with a few of the blond locks as she spoke into the screen.

"It was like the sun just vanished." She sounded breathless. "I didn't see what happened. No one did. Everything was fine and then BOOM! We were all waking up as though we'd all been put under a spell or passed out at the same time."

"Have there been any injuries?" Cid asked.

"Not that I've heard." The woman explained. "Nobody seems to be suffering from any side effects either, but this still doesn't make any sense."

"We're sending a response team out there to check things out." Cid informed her. "Has everyone woken up since the shadow passed?"

"Passed?" The woman grabbed either side of the screen. "It's still here. It's still completely dark outside. Let me show you."

The screen abruptly jostled as the woman picked up the recorder and carried it with her. Rinoa set the files on the desk beside Cid and looked away from the jerking screen.

"What world is this?" Rinoa asked.

"The one closest to where that satellite went missing a few weeks ago." Cid grumbled without looking at her. "The Allied base there reported a high pitched groaning noise, just like the one on the last satellite feed before there was a worldwide blackout."

"See?" The young woman on the screen said, hoisting the recorder up.

Rinoa squinted with Cid. The rolling landscape and shimmering lakes that were on the screen were muted, as though shot through a black and white camera. The sky was dark also, with no clouds or stars breaking the expanse. It was eerie and unsettling.

"Can you still hear that noise?" Cid asked.

"No, but it's—"

"Rapunzel!" A young man with dark hair darted into view atop a white horse.

"Eugene. Max. What is it?" The woman, Rapunzel asked.

"They need you back at the palace." The man said. "A fire has broken out."

Rapunzel looked back at the screen, at Cid and Rinoa. "When will your team arrive?"

"Within half an hour." Cid assured her. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

She nodded and the feed abruptly cut out.

Cid groaned and ran a hand over his eyes. "Damn."

"Cid," Rinoa asked uncomfortably. "What could cause the population of an entire planet to pass out? I've never heard of any spell or magic that powerful."

"No." Cid shook his head and looked at her slowly. "This is something else." He narrowed his eyes and looked at the blank screen. "This is something new."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _This was something that Jake hadn't anticipated: Tabaeus was a nervous drinker._


	45. The Price of Progress

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Big developments in this chapter, character and plot-wise. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**131 – It Takes a Village**

The sound of Mikayla's crying jostled Cloud out of the doze that he hadn't realized he'd fallen into. He opened his eyes to find the living room of Leon and Tifa's house dark. He blinked away confusion and remembered. Tifa would be returning to work at the Alliance in a few weeks, and she had wanted to get back into the swing of what was going on in her department, as Cloud and Tifa's top interns had more or less taken over running it during her maternity leave.

The problem was that Tifa was meticulous when it came to the running of her department, and it had been early afternoon when Cloud had arrived at her house. It was night now. He sat up off the couch just as the upstairs light flicked on. He saw Tifa's shadow move out of the bedroom and toward the nursery. How long had he been dozing? He ran a hand over his face as he got up and meandered upstairs to let Tifa know he was going home.

Tifa was holding Mikayla and bouncing on her heels when he walked in.

"Hey." He greeted, feeling re-energized after the impromptu catnap.

She half turned toward him, "Oh, hi. Sorry, you checked out, so I just sort of left you there…She should calm down in a few minutes."

"S'okay." He saw the dark circles under Tifa's eyes and held his hands out. "Give her here."

Tifa blinked. "What?"

"Let me have her. You go to bed. In that order." He reiterated.

"Oh, no, Cloud, that's okay. I can't ask you to—"

"You're not asking. I'm telling. Sleep, that's an order."

She raised a challenging eyebrow but let him pluck the infant from her arms. Mikayla changed hands easily. She continued to cry, but she had dropped from below a scream to a whimper. Tifa's exhaustion seemed to double as she stepped away.

"Thanks, Cloud."

"Yeah, yeah, shoo." He waved her off with his foot.

Taking over custody for the moment, Cloud carried Mikayla with him downstairs. The baby squirmed a little on the way down, but she had more or less quieted by the time he walked back into the living room. Papers were scattered across the coffee table and furniture, along with baby stuff, parenting books, toys, and power bar wrappers.

"You are really putting these two through the ropes." He murmured, looking at the little girl. "Have you no mercy?"

Mikayla hiccupped, her lower lip wobbling as her tears tapered off.

"You should be nice to them, y'know. You took them by surprise. You took all of us by surprise." He mumbled, sauntering around the living room with her; moving around and talking to her seemed to keep her calm. "They're not doing a shabby job either though."

Mikayla pouted, one of her hands finding his chin, the other finding his ear. Cloud turned his head, looking back into her wide, teary blue eyes. She hummed at him, and he leaned in, bopping his nose against hers.

"Boop." He chirped. When she leaned away and giggled, he smirked.

Silence settled over the house, and Cloud rubbed Mikaya's back as she quieted. Hopefully Tifa would get some real sleep tonight. While he knew didn't have to stay, Cloud was content to loiter for a bit. Both Tifa and Leon had had a lot on their plates recently, and it seemed to kill them inside to ask for help occasionally. With their responsibilities to the Alliance, it was impossible to do everything, even for them. And it wasn't like Mikayla didn't have an entire Restoration Committee of aunts and uncles to help out. Stubborn mules.

It wasn't long before the front door opened, and Leon trudged into the house, looking just as bone weary and exhausted as Tifa. He straightened when he saw Cloud in the living room with Mikayla, a look of confusion darting across his face.

"Is this the right house?" He asked, only half serious.

Cloud just pointed toward the stairs. "Go to bed."

Leon frowned, "Tifa—"

"Already sleeping. Go." He pointed again.

"But you—" He pointed at Mikayla.

"Ah." Cloud scolded, pointing a third time. "Don't make me push you."

Leon looked bewildered but soon surrendered, heading up the stairs. Cloud snorted and looked back to Mikayla as they were alone together again. She was starting to doze off, those eyelids beginning to work their way closed. She let out a yawn and then seemed to contentedly make herself comfortable as she fell asleep. He smirked; she had it SO rough.

He continued to absently meander around the living room, lulling Mikayla to sleep, before picking his way upstairs to the nursery. She proved to be a little stubborn when he leaned over to deposit her in the crib, squirming in her sleep while he tried to be as gentle as possible. The angle that he had to contort to in order to accommodate her forced the little black box in his pocket to wiggle out and drop to the floor. It landed with a plop that, under normal circumstances, would have been dismissed, but in the middle of the night, near a barely-asleep baby, it sounded like a bomb going off.

He grimaced, but she didn't stir. He snatched the box up from the floor, checked to make sure the little diamond ring inside was still there, and shoved it back into his pocket before quietly slipping out of the Leonhart residence.

**..:-X-:..**

**132 – Losing Inhibitions**

This was to be their official, true blue, bona fide, certified, no-doubt-about-it first date. Jake had been extra supervisory in making sure that it all went perfectly. When Tabaeus finally found an open slot in her schedule for a dinner date, she had pretty much left it up to him to pick a place, a time—within the allotted slot—and 'whatever else there is.'

So now here they were, sitting across from each other at a small local restaurant that had a friendly but quiet atmosphere, good service, and that was both classy but within a modest budget. He grinned like an idiot at her, unable and unwilling to tone it down. She looked stunning. He'd told her as much since he'd picked her up at her apartment. She had evacuated her uniform for a long sleeved olive blouse with a thin black ribbon running under the seam of the chest and black pants. Instead of boots, she wore black closed toe flats, and instead of a tight ponytail, her tawny brown hair was down and looked like it had been subjected to aggressive straight-ironing. She had attempted to paint her nails, and for a while, she had fidgeted by picking at the dried nail polish that had ended up missing the nails. No jewelry, but she had applied a tiny bit of make up. A 'tiny bit' of make up was nearly a makeover considering that she never wore make up.

"You're doing it again." She said slowly.

"I know." He continued to smile. "Is it making you uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, but…not…in a BAD way." She shifted slightly, fidgeting with the straw that was sticking out of her empty glass.

That was something that Jake hadn't anticipated: Tabaeus was a nervous drinker. It was alarming how quickly she had inhaled the drink as soon as the waiter set it down in front of her. He hadn't realized how nerve-wracking the whole 'date' situation was for her. It was just she and Jake. It wasn't like this was a blind date with someone she didn't know or was trying to impress. He tilted his head slightly, noting the make up and nails and the hair again.

WAS she trying to impress him? Tabaeus McCallister, enlisted soldier in the Alliance, right hand to Commander Leonhart, and weapons specialist, was trying to impress Jake Alms: oddjobs man, part-time animal shelter employee, and paintball enthusiast? The thought ballooned in his chest like a warm bubble, and he felt giddy.

"Why are you nervous?" He asked, leaning forward.

"M'not." She lifted her shoulders slightly.

"You INHALED that drink." Jake lifted an eyebrow.

She pursed her lips, looked from him to the empty glass, snorted, and giggled.

Tabaeus McCallister…giggled.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a small smile.

She straightened herself in her seat. "I'm…fine." She enunciated. "How are you?"

Jake bit his tongue hard against a smile at her expense. "I think you're tipsy."

She snorted again and mimicked his forward leaning. "I've only had ONE."

"Yeah, but you drank it really fast." He chuckled. "And you've hardly eaten."

Tabaeus looked down at her plate, as though she had just remembered it was there. "Oh." She looked at him. "Is this mine?"

Jake lost his battle at hiding the smile. "Getting you drunk was in no way part of the plan for tonight. That's all your own doing."

She looked up from her plate to his face, and she seemed to be concentrating extra hard on keeping her eyes focused. "I am not drunk." She said with deliberate enunciation.

"Whatever you say." He said as the waiter brought the bill to the table. "Anyway, how about we go for a walk? The stars look awesome tonight."

She made a clumsy reach for the bill, but he tugged it to himself defiantly, so she huffed, sitting back. "Sounds swell." She gave a lopsided smile and narrowed her eyes, "But if you make one comparison of the shimmering night stars to my eyes, I will throw you into a shrubbery."

"Deal." He bobbed his head, and they shook hands on it.

After leaving the restaurant, the two of them walked side by side through town. It was late evening at that point, a balmy night with a handful of other people milling around. He hadn't been exaggerating: the stars were out in full bloom that night. And it would be a lie to say that the stars' glinting wasn't reminiscent of Tabaeus's brown eyes, but he had given his word so he didn't say it aloud. He had given no word not to compliment her though.

"You look beautiful."

"Oh, hmph. I stabbed myself in the eye with the eyeliner earlier." She snorted.

"Not just tonight…all the time." He looked at her as they walked. "With or without dolling yourself up…Although I am flattered that you got dolled up for me."

She dropped her gaze awkwardly and knocked her elbow against his affectionately. "Well…I…wanted to. I mean, I tried. So…you're welcome."

Jake snickered and fluidly slid his hand down to hers, intertwining their fingers brazenly. He felt her hand twitch, fighting that knee-jerk reaction to pull away, but she reciprocated the gesture. Before it became comfortable, she stopped walking, turned on her heel, and faced him.

"I'm going to kiss you now…because…I might be a little tipsy." She announced.

"Okay, that's—" He was cut off as she pulled him to her, planting a sloppy kiss on his mouth that tasted like vodka and cherry lipstick.

**..:-X-:..**

**133 – Push the Boundaries**

Aerith shook herself briefly, rolling her shoulders to get the kinks out of her muscles. She stood alone in one of the private labs of her Allied department. Being the head of the division that specialized in experimental healing magic and remedies, there were a number of labs and scientific rooms designed to withstand high pressure spellwork and power levels.

She paced back and forth in front of one of the lab tables. The table surface was clear except for three samples of the blue crystals that she had confiscated from the deep chamber of the castle ruins. Fringes of the world's heart: that's what Merlin called them. Pieces of the collective, physical evidence of the undercurrent. Theoretically, since she had been able to manipulate the essence of the undercurrent, she should be able to use these crystals to…what? Nibbling on a fingernail, she stepped over to the crystals.

Picking up one of the crystals, she wrapped her fingers around it and rubbed her index finger along the jagged edge. The stone was cool but carried a low hum to it. She inhaled slowly and held the thing out, palm up. She opened her fist so that the crystal was simply resting in her hand. She could feel it; the familiar sensation of warmth was emanating from the stone, just like when she accessed the undercurrent, as though she was handling something alive and aware, like it was watching her and sizing her up.

She had been working with the intangible essence of the Heart of Radiant Garden for over 10 months; she had a pretty good grip on it. It almost came easily now. How much more different could using a physical manifestation be?

"Okay." She bounced once on her heels, like a boxer entering a ring. "Here we go."

Holding the crystal in her open palm at arms' length, she stepped away from the table and out into the empty floor of the lab. As she had for months when working with the wispy smoke of the undercurrent, Aerith concentrated on accessing the sentient thought process of the crystal, trying to breach the consciousness and be granted permission to summon forth the power of the world's heart.

With the smoky fog, she had to coax it out of the material around her. It was pure energy; it had to be handled delicately, and it usually took several minutes to get any visible results, barring the incident with her emotional outburst at Yuffie. However, Aerith had hardly begun to focus on invoking the power of Radiant Garden's Heart, when the crystal in her hand immediately reacted.

The hum intensified and the heat emanating from it singed her palm. Startled by the accelerated reaction, Aerith involuntarily dropped the crystal. The stone plummeted the four feet from her hand to the floor. As soon as it collided with the tile floor, the humming stopped. A jet of light exploded out of the end of the crystal. The beam jettisoned forward like a laser, sizzling across the air as it slammed into the wall. Aerith yelped in surprise, covered her head with her arms, and ducked.

The echo of the collision exploded across the lab, blowing papers off surfaces. The energy wave put off by the explosion shattered the glass surfaces in the chamber, and the point of impact where the energy beam hit the wall was scorched black.

As the light and the energy faded, she poked her head up from behind the table where she'd ducked. Smoke was rising from the hole in the wall, and the crystal was lying complacently on the floor, no longer humming, no longer burning. Shaken, she straightened and gawked at the hole. That had never happened before. She hadn't even been trying to harness the energy or anything. She hadn't even been trying to facilitate a visual display. She had only been trying to access it, just to see if she could.

A sudden dizzy spell made her pause, but it passed quickly, so she shook it off and crossed over to where the crystal was resting. She picked up a protective towel and folded it, kneeling down and lifting the crystal while using the towel like an oven mitt, just in case. The crystal gave no additional reaction, and she stood again, setting the stone beside the other two crystal samples.

Nonplussed, she took out her research notebook that she kept in one of the table drawers, flipped it open to the next blank page, snatched up a pen, and immediately began to document what had happened. As her hand zoomed back and forth across the page, her mind reeled.

This was huge. This was a massive development. Merlin was right; these crystals could be dangerous in reckless hands. She would have to be doubly careful when handling them. But she had done it. She had had direct physical contact with a planetary heart, arguably one of the most powerful forms of magic and light in the universe, and it had let her. The reaction and the hum of the crystal had felt almost…jubilant, like the heart was excited about being handled, or accessed, or having contact with a human being.

The adrenaline of it all was still pulsing through her, and her vision blurred. She shook her head and leaned over to skim the notes that she'd written, making sure they were legible. Oh, this was so huge! This was…this was an entire new chapter in her research! If she could learn to—

A large dot suddenly appeared on her notes. Aerith straightened slightly in surprise before leaning over again and inspecting the dot. It looked like red ink, but her pen was blue. Her brows knit together as she touched the dot, finding it wet. She stood away from the notebook and frowned, touching her nose and finding more red on her hand. Her nose was bleeding.

She sniffed and took up a napkin, wiping her hand off and then clearing her nose of the blood. That was strange; she wasn't prone to nosebleeds. It wasn't serious, just a few sprinkles of red. Her eyes drifted from the napkin to the crystals on the table, then to the scorched hole in the wall. Dangerous.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** "_You could have a plastic ring from a gumball machine, and I promise that Aerith would still say yes."_


	46. Four Words of What is to Come

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Some new developments in this chapter, some small, some big, and a new character gets mentioned in passing. More on that later. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**134 – Hand to Hand**

"Timeout! Yield! I yield! Uncle!" Rinoa lifted her hands, looking up from where she'd landed sprawled on the floor.

Yuffie stopped her advance, looking disappointed but stopping the exercise. "You won't be able to yield in a real fight, you know."

Rinoa dropped her hands to the floor with a slap that echoed in the enclosed room of the training center. "Well, this isn't a real fight, is it?"

Yuffie smirked, offering her a hand up. "It could be."

She accompanied the words with a sudden lunge forward, mimicking an attack. Rinoa yelped and rolled away, blindly kicking one leg out. Yuffie side stepped the counterattack easily.

"You're supposed to be teaching me." Rinoa grumbled, angrily getting to her feet and wiping the sweat from her brow. "Not beating the crap out of me."

"How do you think I learned?" Yuffie lifted an eyebrow. "Leon was a harder teacher than I am, trust me. And I was half your age. And we were practicing against Heartless."

Rinoa balked. "I've fought Heartless. Your group wasn't the only ones roaming the worlds for ten years, remember?"

Yuffie whistled, "Then you've gotten soft, chickadee. I'm barely even trying."

"I fought with long range weapons: crossbows, grappling hooks…I asked you to help me with hand-to-hand stuff." Rinoa shot back.

Yuffie slid into a defensive stance, "Then bring it. I'm right here." She spread her hands in a goading gesture. "Come at me, bro."

Rinoa narrowed her eyes and attacked. Her right hook was obvious and easily avoided, and her footwork was messy, so Yuffie was able to duck and roll away from it. As an added bonus, she swept her left leg out, taking Rinoa's knees out from under her and sending her back to the floor.

"DAMMIT." Rinoa grunted as she landed, rolling hard and coming back up onto her feet. "You fight dirty."

"Because the Heartless won't?" Yuffie offered a teasing grin, trying to get her riled up, and offered a hand to help her to her feet again.

Rinoa scowled but took the offered hand. Just as their fingers closed around each other, however, Rinoa jerked Yuffie forward, wrapping one leg around Yuffie's torso and slinging her to the ground. Yuffie curled her shoulder inward to roll with the impact, and the momentum sent her back up to her knees. Rinoa tried to let go of Yuffie's hand at that point, but Yuffie reversed the grip, grasping the woman's wrist and twisting her entire arm. With a cry, Rinoa was forced onto her stomach on the floor, pinned there. Yuffie was immediately on top of her, her knee pressed between Rinoa's shoulder blades.

"Ugh, get off me." Rinoa wriggled.

A slow clap distracted them both, and they looked up to see Aerith standing in the doorway, looking nonchalant and casually applauding them. Yuffie stood away from Rinoa, and Rinoa refused her help up this time, standing on her own.

"I don't remember Leon teaching you like that." Aerith looked amused.

" 'Course not." Yuffie snorted, puffing out her chest. "I did have SOME formal training before the Heartless attacked Radiant Garden the first time."

Aerith canted her head and looked to Rinoa. "You shouldn't let her pick on you."

Rinoa looked affronted. "I'm not LETTING her. She's not teaching me anything except how to get bruises." She tugged at the torn fabric of her clothes from the tussling.

Aerith stepped into the room. "There are other ways to defend yourself if you find yourself in a fight or a battle…safer ways, ways you might be more skilled at."

Rinoa huffed. "Like what?"

"Liiiiiiiike…" Aerith turned to Yuffie.

Yuffie groaned, "Ugh, Aerith, can we not—"

Aerith flicked her wrist, lifting her hand and muttering the incantation. As she did so, ice formed through the air and hurtled toward Yuffie. The spearheads of ice went rigid in mid-air within a meter from the ninja's body, hovering there under Aerith's control. Rinoa gasped, but Yuffie stood where she was, deadpan.

"From a safe distance," Aerith said, slowly twirling her fingers and making the ice spears rotate around her friend. "You can eliminate almost any threat."

Yuffie snorted, "Almost." She unleashed a Fire spell, evaporating the ice and lunging through the flames at Aerith.

Aerith hopped to the side and deftly touched her palm to Yuffie's shoulder as she passed, uttering a Stop spell that made Yuffie go rigid in place. Rinoa applauded.

"Show me how to do THAT!" She said but then grew serious. "Your nose is bleeding."

Aerith voided the Stop spell and Yuffie regained her balance, grumbling under her breath. Aerith touched her face and quickly tugged out a tissue to dab it away.

"You okay?" Yuffie asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Aerith waved her off. "The air in the clinic is so dry…" She crossed the room. "I'll let you get back to your training."

Rinoa spun back to Yuffie, "I changed my mind. Teach me spells like THAT."

"Ugh. Fine." Yuffie tugged off her sparring gloves. "First, let's get a fire extinguisher in here…just in case."

**..:-X-:..**

**135 – Unhelpful Advice**

Leon held the little black box, staring at the engagement ring that was tucked inside. It was a thin silver band with the single diamond cut in a square. He turned the box so the light would catch the stone.

"It's tiny." Cloud muttered, looking like a reprimanded dog where he sat across from him in Leon's office. "It's too small, isn't it? I should have gotten a bigger diamond. But all the bigger ones looked so gaudy."

"It's fine." Leon cut him off before he rambled too much, handing the box back.

"Fine?" Cloud's eyebrows shot up. "It's not supposed to be 'fine.' It's supposed to be perfect. You're supposed to be helping."

Leon lifted his shoulders, "I am helping. You're getting too worked up about this."

"Easy for you to say."

"Easy—I didn't even have a ring when I proposed." Leon pointed out. "And I could barely stand up. It was raining. We both looked like banshees. Tifa still said yes."

"Yeah, well, you two are weird." Cloud mumbled, studying the ring in his hands.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." Leon grumbled back at him. "Look, Cloud. You could have a plastic ring from a gumball machine, and I promise that Aerith would still say yes."

"You're a bastard."

"I'm serious." Leon snorted. "She might pester you for a real diamond later, but in the moment, she's not going to care about the ring."

Cloud's knee was jumping nervously as he stared at the ring. Leon noticed the twitch and tried to hide his amusement.

"When are you planning on doing it?" He asked.

"I don't…know." Cloud grunted.

"Yeah you do." Leon narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I'm just not telling you because you'll give me shit until then."

"I'm going to give you shit anyway. It's my job."

Cloud shot him a nasty look.

"You want McCallister to look at it? She's a woman; she might have better insight than me. She's a vault; she won't let the secret slip." Leon offered.

Cloud looked horrified. "No."

Leon lifted an eyebrow, "Watch it. She helped me pick out Tifa's." Then, just to irk the man, he added. "How are you going to do it?"

Cloud glared. "Better than how you did it."

"I would hope so." Leon smirked.

Cloud seemed to see that Leon wasn't going to mock him too badly, because he shifted in his seat. "We've been living together for about a month now, but there are still a few boxes lying around half unpacked. I was…going to finish the unpacking for her as a surprise. Then…do it." He shrugged, looking to Leon self consciously.

Leon, for his part, just returned the shrug. "Sounds fine."

"Fine." Cloud huffed, sitting back. "Not perfect."

" 'Perfect' and you are never going to co-mingle, man." Leon said flatly. " 'Fine' means just that: fine. Grand gestures and over-the-top romantic set-ups are great for the movies, but when have you ever seen any of that happen in real life?"

Cloud impatiently popped up onto his feet, looking like he was trying hard not to start pacing out of anxiety. "I don't know what I'm doing." He muttered.

Leon didn't comment on that, idly turning through some unrelated Alliance files. Cloud took that as indication to continue.

"Am I supposed to…kneel? Do people still kneel when they propose? What do I say? 'Tada?' If I kneel and she doesn't answer immediately, do I stay down there until she does? Would that be awkward?" Cloud rambled.

"Do whatever you want." Leon said, not looking up from his files. "Tell you love her and you want to spend the rest of your life with her and all that mushy stuff." He made a vague hand gesture as he trailed away.

"You suck." Cloud spat. "Have you even MET me? I won't make it through that."

"Cloud." Leon's patience was wearing out. "Maybe you should practice first." Before Cloud could respond, Leon tapped the call button on his desk phone. "McCallister, my office."

Cloud looked at him in horror, and ten seconds later, the soldier appeared in the doorway. Cloud glared at Leon, and Leon just made a shooing motion. She wore a deadpan expression.

"What makes you think," She said flatly, "that I could have any possible insight into marriage proposals?" At Leon and Cloud's perplexed expressions, she sighed, "I overheard."

"I'm not mock-proposing to McCallister." Cloud grumbled.

"Damn straight you're not." She snapped. "I've got half a dozen reports to write."

As she about-faced and left the office, Cloud blinked and looked at Leon, "She's started to get sassy lately."

Leon's patience had run out. "Get out of my office."

**..:-X-:..**

**136 – Missing Pieces**

"Y'know…" Beverly said in a droll tone, "…when you make a surprise visit to my bar, my first thought isn't whether you're going to ask me about other women."

Across the counter from her, Cid held the picture up more prominently. "For science, Beverly. Have you ever seen this woman?"

Beverly sent him a flat look and then squinted at the photo. "That's not a woman; that's a girl. Early teens. I don't see a lot of teenaged girls in my bar." She lifted an eyebrow.

Cid hmphed and set the photo on the counter, taking a drink from his beer bottle. The picture was twenty years old. The teenaged girl would be in her late thirties in the current day. Cid was well aware of how much a person could physically change in twenty years, but it was the only photo that he had been able to find of the mysterious person.

"So…?" Beverly questioned, mixing a drink for another customer. "Why is the Alliance interested in a girl who went missing two decades ago?"

"The Alliance isn't. Me and Merlin are." Cid tugged a cigarette out of the pack. "This person disappeared twenty years ago from Radiant Garden, and two months ago, she came back." He snapped his fingers. "Out of fucking thin air. Her family's dead, her friends are gone, no one in the Alliance knows who she is except her doctors—"

"Doctors?" Beverly's other eyebrow lifted.

"Whatever happened to her for those 20 years…She's not right up here." He tapped his temple. "Merlin was one of a very select group of people who talked to her after she turned up. He said she would hardly speak for hours and then just start babbling, and anything she did say was just…nonsense. He lent me the recording of the session with her." He held up a tape recorder. "I been listening to this gibberish since that black out event in the Sun Kingdom. Merlin thinks this woman is the key to figuring it all out. Woman's in a straight jacket…and for good reason…"

To prove his point, he turned on the recorder, pressed play, and set it on the counter between them. Static crackled briefly, and then Merlin's voice started.

"_We're reaching the four hour mark, Beth, and while it's been very kind of you to listen to an old man tell his stories, I'd like to hear some of yours now._" He paused. "_Would you like to tell me anything? About what happened to you?_"

There was a long, breathy silence, before the second voice began, hoarse from disuse.

"…_Word like a ravine…ravine-ravine-ravine, but not. What is it? Not? Canyon, like a ravine…ravine-ravine-ravine…_" The woman's voice was scratchy, barely above a whisper, and rapidly paced. "_Tear open the sky…I saw it, you know, I was there. I felt it_."

She giggled: a dissonant, throaty noise that made Beverly grimace.

Merlin spoke again, "_Where were you?"_

"_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum, it goes. I saw the boy. He didn't see me. They never see me. Did you like the flashing blue lights? It was so messy…Shh!"_ She hissed, as though someone was trying to interrupt her, though no one else was speaking on the recording. "_You know it's a cage…They're all in cages. Light, the realm of light…locked away. Keyblades like toothpicks, hehehe…_" Her giggly voice abruptly shifted to seriousness. "_Darkness has no cage. Put everybody to sleep. Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum._"

She trailed away after that, and Merlin cleared his throat some moments later.

"_Beth…tell me more about the cage_…"

When the subject, Beth, spoke again, her voice was low and level, almost threatening. "_I don't want to talk about that anymore."_

Cid turned off the recorder and looked to Beverly, whose eyebrows were sky high.

"That…is some fucked up shit." She poured herself a drink.

Cid puffed on his cigarette and pocketed the recorder. "There's another two hours of these sessions with her talking…Just more of that mess…blue lights and cages and light and darkness…Merlin thinks it's some brilliance or genius bleeding through whatever insanity has gripped her…I think the poor woman's traumatized and she's babbling nonsense."

"And he thinks that it relates to the Sun Kingdom incident…how?"

"Only he knows…but he's no fool, and he's adamant about finding her." Cid exhaled smoke. "She broke out of the institution where she's been living since she was found. Left behind four words written in marker on her room wall." Cid lifted his hands to showcase the message. "Nowhere. Cage. Chasm. Bomb."

Cid watched Beverly thoughtfully mouth the four words, and she came to the conclusion about the obscure message that he had: bupkiss. She shrugged in defeat.

"So…I'll ask again…" Cid held up the outdated photo. "Have you seen this girl?"

The smiling teenager in the picture, with her curly brown hair, freckles, and brown eyes, hardly looked the type to speak in that hoarse, rapid voice from the recording. She looked completely ordinary, but if Merlin's gut was saying that her madness had a connection to the mysterious black out and missing satellite, then Cid would be damned if he didn't find her.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N: **(rubs hands together excitedly) Ooh, more hinty-hints for _Sentient Midnight_ are sneaking into this story as we get closer to the end. Things are about to get really interesting really fast.

**Preview for next week:** _"Don't push me away. Please."_


	47. Close to Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Only five chapters left! It's all out of the frying pan and into the fire now. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**137 – So Far**

It was midmorning of her first day back in the office that Tifa became suspicious that her interns and co-workers were popping into her office, not as much to welcome her back, but rather to coo and play with Mikayla.

After debating about it and talking with Leon for hours over the course of her maternity leave, Tifa had come to the conclusion that she didn't want to be separated from Mikayla for an entire day yet, therefore she wouldn't be. So, instead of hiring a babysitter or daycare, she had simply brought her daughter to work with her. Aside from five minutes of crying, the baby had been perfect.

"She doesn't really do much, does she?" One of her interns, Sergeant Garrett Park, said, tapping his index finger against the bottom of Mikayla's foot.

"She sleeps a lot, contrary to what a lot of people say…Except at night, she's not so much a fan of sleeping at night." Tifa smirked. "What do you need, Park?"

Mikayla, who happened to currently be awake, looked up at Park and giggled, waving her fists. Park was a mountain of a man, towering over the younger recruits in Tifa's Combat Department. He had a square face, a gravelly voice, a shaved head, and narrow dark eyes, but his most recognizable feature aside from his size was the jagged scar that almost split his face in half. The scar started in the middle of his forehead at the hairline, carved its way over the bridge of his nose, slid down his cheek and under his right eye, and curled toward his ear.

The lumpy scar tissue and his overall intense demeanor tended to deter most soldiers and civilians, but Mikayla was reacting better to Park than she had reacted to most of the soldiers who tottered into Tifa's office to ogle at her. Tifa was chalking it up to the scar reminding her of Leon; though, while Leon's scar was a fairly clean line, Park's was a jagged, horrendous thing that had healed unusually and left chunks of his cheek missing.

The large man looked to Tifa. "Ma'am, it's come to my attention, and I think you should be aware of the specialty team that's being assembled under Commander Highwind and Merlin's authority."

Tifa sat back in her seat. "Is this about that missing satellite?"

Park grunted. "No, ma'am, this is about a missing person."

Tifa blinked, puzzled. Missing persons was the jurisdiction of the local police authorities, not the military. Unless it was one of their own on a mission, if they had a soldier MIA in the field, that was a different situation.

"Who?" She asked.

Park frowned, "Civilian cold case, Beth Marshall. Missing for twenty years, showed up a few months ago. She just disappeared again from an institution."

Tifa knit her brow, "Why the spotlight?"

"She's a special interest case for Merlin." Park informed. "Word is that Highwind thinks she has a connection to the black out."

"Black out?" Tifa lifted an eyebrow.

Park's frown deepened. "Since the satellite disappeared, a perimeter world called the Sun Kingdom experienced a worldwide black out. Not just power, the sun darkened, and the entire population had a spontaneous loss of consciousness."

Tifa was already reaching for her desk phone, "Who knows about this?"

"Everyone." At Tifa's sharp look, Park dropped his gaze. "Sorry, ma'am. It's been kept under wraps, away from the media."

"Dismissed." Tifa dialed Cid's number.

Park wordlessly left, closing her office door after himself.

"Hello?" Was Cid's greeting on the phone.

"What's with the secrecy? What are you up to?" Tifa opened.

The man let out a low curse. "Tifa, this isn't your puddle to splash in."

"Bull." Tifa glanced over to Mikayla, who was distracted by her own fists. "I had twelve soldiers stationed on that world. And what's with this missing person cold case?"

"Your soldiers are fine. I sent Major Banks and a squad out there. No casualties, no side effects, no nothing." Cid replied. "And the Marshall girl—"

"—escaped from an institution?" Tifa pressed. "Is she dangerous?"

"No, not from what I've gathered." He sounded exasperated. "Please, Tifa, you got enough on your plate getting back to your own department. Me and Merlin got this under control."

"I'm not—" Tifa took a breath, "I'm not trying to stir up anything. I just want to know what 'this' is and why it has to be kept under control."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out too." Cid exhaled. "Merlin's keeping it all pretty close to the chest, but I've listened to recorded sessions he had with her…Somethin' ain't right."

Tifa chewed the side of her lip. "Okay, well…Could you let me know of any developments?"

He gave a long sigh. "Sure. Just…keep it quiet, all right? We don't want a panic."

"Why would there be a panic?" Tifa asked. "You said she wasn't dangerous."

"Not from what I've gathered." He said quietly.

Tifa pursed her lips, looking at her infant daughter. "Find her, Cid."

**..:-X-:..**

**138 – Far Enough**

"I've never understood the whole 'walk the girl home' thing." Tabaeus mused aloud as she and Jake reached her apartment door. "I guess it's the whole chivalry spiel: make sure the woman gets home safely, but…I can handle myself. In fact, I should probably walk YOU home."

Jake gave a mock-laugh. "Oh, you think you're clever. Have you ever considered that I'm just a great guy who doesn't want to ditch you at your street?"

Tabaeus snorted and brought out her door key. "Oh, all right. I stand corrected."

"If we got jumped right now," he raised his fists. "Boom, I'd take that mother out."

"Right." She unlocked her door but didn't immediately open it.

"I'm a tough son of a gun. I'd protect you." He said with a wink.

"And if I don't need protecting?" She said, bordering on flirtatious as she faced him.

His face fell but he took a slow step toward her. "Can you just let me feel like a man for once without showing me up?" He smirked.

She grinned, leaning in closer. "It's not my job to protect your ego."

When he offered no comeback, she closed the distance between them, kissing him on the lips slowly. She meant it as a goodnight kiss, a quick peck on the lips to send him home with a smile after a successful third date. However, she found herself lingering and reluctant to detach from him. When he didn't withdraw either, she tilted her head slightly, deepening the kiss.

Jake moved closer, his hands moving to her sides as he kissed her. The motion caused her to lean back against her door, involuntarily twisting the knob and granting them access to her apartment. They stepped back into the meager space that served as a living room, kitchen, and dining room, his arms around her and her hands on his shoulders. She backed up against the dining room table abruptly and he stumbled against her.

He was warm and it had been so long since she had been physically close to anyone. Tabaeus kissed him hungrily and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jake reciprocated the kiss but suddenly not just on her lips. He was kissing her chin and her jaw and was working his way down her neck. She gasped lightly at the sensation, reclining her head involuntarily.

She ran a hand through his hair and persuasively tugged him back up to her face, kissing him and smiling into it. She could feel him smiling too, but she could also feel his hands at the base of her blouse, sliding under the fabric and starting to work the shirt up. Her heart began to race, and a flood of mixed emotions crashed through her chest: excitement, anxiety, anticipation, fear, pleasure…and panic.

The last time she had been with someone…

"Jake—" Her hands slid down, grasping his arms.

"Tabaeus." He whispered through a kiss against her neck.

"Jake, stop." She exhaled harshly.

Her tone made him pause, and, in a flash, his hands were off of her, and he leaned away, withdrawing. Relief and disappointment both clouded her, and she shrunk slightly.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, straightening her blouse.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking worried.

"Yes." She nodded quickly before stopping. "I'm—" She swallowed. "I'm sorry, but…not yet. Not tonight."

She was breathing fast, and horror swept through her. Was she going to have a panic attack? Seriously? Now? In front of Jake? Thinking about it didn't help and she held her arms about herself, shoulders hunching defensively.

"Okay." Jake looked alarmed now, lifting his hands palm forward placatingly. "That's okay. I'm not—Tabaeus, it's okay."

Tabaeus swallowed hard and looked at him. He was looking back at her, watching her, seeing her. He was seeing her in a way that she had made sure never to be seen: as vulnerable, as weak, as pathetic. Here a man was showing her physical affection for the first time in years, and she was not only shying away, but she was going into panic mode? Humiliating.

She straightened away from the table, loosening her arms from her sides and raising a hand. "Goodnight, Jake." She said softly, with an air of forced composure.

Jake looked perplexed and slightly hurt by the dismissal. "Wait…Can we talk about this? Because I'm confused…"

Tabaeus hid a grimace. He was reaching out to her, she acknowledged that, but she didn't know how to process it. She couldn't explain to him what was going through her mind in that moment. She wanted nothing more than to be with him tonight. The feel of his body so close to hers had been startlingly intoxicating, and his kiss…But at the same time, the idea terrified her. She didn't want their first time together to feel like that.

"No." She shook her head briefly. "We'll...talk tomorrow. I promise."

His expression of hurt deepened. "Don't push me away. Please."

_You're a robot, Tabaeus_. Mindy Tallman's words echoed.

She inhaled. "I'm not. Jake." She reached out and put her hand on his chest, looking him in the eyes. "I promise we'll talk tomorrow. Tonight, I need…to think."

"Okay." He looked disappointed but he nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

As soon as she was alone after he left, Tabaeus sank to her seat on the floor and cried.

**..:-X-:..**

**139 – Too Far**

_Crack._

Aerith didn't know what happened, what exactly went wrong, or when it started to go wrong. All she knew in that moment was that she was dying.

_Crack._

The floor was cool against her back, but the blood was warm in her mouth, and she coughed, turning her head. The pale blue-green crystals were lying where she'd dropped them, steam rising from the violent reaction that they'd unleashed. Scorch marks were carved across the stone floor of the old laboratory in the center of the old castle ruins of Radiant Garden. She had hoped…had thought that being closer to their origination would help her to stabilize the reaction and get a better view of what these stones could do.

She had tried…All these months, she had been trying to access the consciousness of Radiant Garden's heart. Not to control it or use it for any purpose, just…to understand. Pain throbbed through her chest, and Aerith winced, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She had wanted to contact the sentience of their world, and ever since that first attempt, the world had answered her. Quietly, wordlessly, but with a gentle mirth that had felt welcoming and curious. It had been curious about her just as much as she had been curious about it.

Fumes from the undercurrent curled up like smoke from her hands, where her skin had burned from the summoning. They undulated in the air above her and spread thin, dissipating in the draft of the castle. She coughed again, the spasm sending another spiral of pain up her back and blurring her vision.

_Crack._

She could hear it.

Whispers. Some sounded like whispers…Others sounded like screaming, but they were so far away that their voices had dulled to echoes. Voices so close they were almost in her head.

She could feel it too.

Every shift, every shudder, every quiver of the world around her: it was like her nerve endings had become attached to the nerve endings of the planet, and all of its feelings filtered through into her body. Hyperawareness slammed across her mind like a sledgehammer, and she cried out in pain, overwhelmed.

"Stop…" She whispered, closing her eyes. "Take it away…I'm sorry…Make it stop…"

_Stop_…The whispers hissed.

_Crack._

_Stop_…The others screamed.

She could hear the cracking…She could feel it like it was her own bones cracking, succumbing to some kind of immense pressure. It reached so much deeper than that, though. Through the stone floor, through the beams and the concrete and the wood that held this castle together, the crack was reaching farther and deeper into the bowels of the castle than she had ever thought existed. But they did exist, because she could feel them. In that moment, she could feel everything in Radiant Garden.

The crack started where the crystals had landed, jettisoned through the floor and toward the heart of the castle…The heart of the world? Aerith wheezed; it was getting harder to breathe.

"Let me go…" She gasped. "Please…stop…"

_Stop_…The whispers continued, mimicking her. _Stop. Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT_.

The screams joined in, much closer now, practically in her ear: _STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT._

They weren't mimicking her though. They weren't mocking her. They weren't even referencing her, she realized through the fog of pain. They were screaming at the crack. The snare of nothingness that was separating matter as it stretched toward the soul of the castle.

Deeper and deeper the crack reached, and the world's fear made her own pulse accelerate. It was getting too close. It was nearing something that it should never get close to. Fear morphed into horror, gripping Aerith for reasons that she couldn't fathom. She had no idea what was down there, only that it should NEVER be touched. The crack in the floor had reached too far, it was getting too close, and it was her fault.

The floor shuddered under her body, and Aerith cried out, trying to move her limbs, but they were too sore and sprained to obey her.

Another voice reached through the chaos then, and light rushed up out of the crack in the floor like a flash light being turned on the in darkness.

"_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum it goes_…" A woman's voice, close, real.

The light roared up in wisps of blue-green smoke, just like the undercurrent that she had been accessing for the past year.

"_You'll find him Nowhere_…" The voice continued.

"What?" Aerith gasped, unable to breathe. "Who's there? Help me, please…"

"_They're all in cages_…"

The smoke thickened into columns, wrapping around themselves like arms.

"_Word like a ravine…ravine-ravine-ravine_…"

Aerith screamed as the arms abruptly rushed forward, slamming around her in a violent hug. Oblivion swallowed her.

"_Boom._"

The lights went out, the undercurrent faded, and the chamber darkened, leaving only a shadowy figure of a woman standing over Aerith's motionless body.

"_So messy_…"

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _No tears came; Cloud wasn't sure his body was capable of tears anymore._


	48. Comfort in the Fallout

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Delayed chapter is delayed because school hates me. Ah well. Here we are. Some language in this chapter, because Cid and Banks. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**140 – Right There**

"This is my fault." Cloud mumbled. "I should have stopped you."

Aerith didn't respond, hadn't responded since he'd come to see her. She continued to lay there, comatose, the heart monitor beeping steadily in the quiet hospital room.

Cloud inhaled sharply and lifted a hand, pushing his thumb and index finger against his eyelids. "I couldn't have stopped you. You knew…you _knew_ it was dangerous…"

He clasped his hands together against his lips, looking over his knuckles at her. She was pale, and her pallor made the burns on her hands and arms stand out more prominently. The doctors weren't sure what to call it. It was like she had suffered a minor stroke or a heart attack; the symptoms were there, but she was too young for that, too healthy for that. She was currently stable, but they weren't sure when she would wake up, or if she would wake up.

"What were you doing?" He asked quietly, watching her unconscious face. "Please…open your eyes and tell me…because I don't—"

His voice gave out, and he cleared his throat, elbows on his knees as he leaned forward in his seat. He felt helpless. He felt useless. He didn't know how to fix this. If he had spoken to her more earnestly about how he felt about her research…It had never felt right to him…Maybe he could have convinced her to drop her undercurrent theory.

Even as that thought occurred to him, he almost laughed it away. Once Aerith put her mind to something, there was no talking her out of it. If anyone was going to get to the bottom of the undercurrent in Radiant Garden, it was his Aerith. Yet, instead of revelation, her experiment had blown a hole in the inner chamber of the old castle ruins, blasted a crack that reached through the floor to a section of the foundation that no one could safely reach to analyze, and resulted in giving her internal injuries and a serious enough head trauma that she had been unconscious for over a week. If he had been there…If she had been comfortable enough to ask him to go with her…If he had trusted her enough…

"Please…" He murmured. "Please wake up."

"Hey."

The voice made him snap his head up, but Aerith hadn't stirred. Instead, he turned his head to see Tifa standing in the doorway to the hospital room, a soft look on her face. Cloud released the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and glanced away from her, back to Aerith.

Tifa moved inside, closing the door after herself, and slowly stepped over to where Cloud was sitting, on the small couch against the wall. She didn't say anything beyond her one-word greeting, and Cloud was grateful for that. He didn't trust his voice to survive a conversation. He'd had enough conversations with the doctors. Since the accident, he hadn't spoken to anybody who wasn't a medical professional aside from Leon, who only called him to let him know that he was taking over Cloud's departmental duties so he could be with Aerith and that Yuffie was handling Aerith's department.

Tifa stood for a moment, looking at Aerith, before sinking down to sit next to Cloud. Her warmth at his right side broke through the walls of cold composure that he'd carefully built up since taking up this vigil at Aerith's bedside. He'd lost track of how long he'd been sitting in this room. He hadn't slept or eaten since…when? It didn't matter. None of it mattered. How could he bother with trivial things like that when the only person that mattered was in a coma in front of him? But Tifa's presence had knocked him back, and his body was starting to remind him why those things weren't so trivial.

Her right hand reached over to where his right hand was over his knee. She grasped his hand and gave it a light squeeze, while her left arm hooked around his back, pulling him gently close. He grimaced, squeezing her hand in return, though he couldn't look at her, didn't dare.

"Shh." Tifa murmured, leaning closer to him.

Cloud thought about moving away from her. He didn't need to be coddled. She was shushing him for no reason. He wasn't doing anything. He thought about withdrawing from her touch, but the idea of being alone again was painful, so he remained where he was.

"Shh." She murmured again, her thumb rubbing against his. "It's okay. This wasn't your fault. Don't you dare think it was." Her voice was tender and carried a sincere maternal tone.

It broke those cold walls of composure.

Cloud dropped his head, his shoulders hunching, as though to ward off how much everything hurt in that moment, how nauseatingly helpless he felt. His chest constricted and his throat involuntarily spasmed, causing him to choke once for air. He inhaled with a shudder.

"Okay." Tifa whispered, a gentle acknowledgement, and moved her hand from his to wrap around his chest, drawing him to her. "Okay."

Cloud could do little at that point but ragdoll into her embrace. His face found the crook of her neck, and Tifa held him tightly with both arms. No tears came; Cloud wasn't sure his body was capable of tears anymore. He had never tried to regain that, either, until that moment. It would have been a relief. Instead, all of that fear and pain was left caged in his chest, raging and burning until his ribs ached and it hurt to breathe.

He was exhausted, but fear was keeping him distracted. He wasn't used to this, to waiting. He wasn't built for patience and chance. Unfortunately, all he could do right then was be patient, wait, and hope chance was on Aerith's side.

"I can't—" He choked.

"Yes you can." Tifa sounded like steel and silk. "You're okay. She'll be okay."

He lost track of time again, but this time, there was comfort in his friend's arms.

**..:-X-:..**

**141 – Shriek**

"I don't know if it's fucking dark outside, sir. This is Traverse Town. It's always fucking dark." Major Valerie Banks's voice barked out of the communicator.

Cid gritted his teeth. "Check the fucking stars, Banks. Are you sure?"

The large screen in the underground monitoring room showed the First District of Traverse Town from the vantage point of the small camera mounted on the soldier's microphone headpiece. It was jostling slightly as she walked down the central steps and glanced toward the doors to the Third District. She abruptly looked upward, and the pixels blurred for a moment before clearing into a bog of bland darkness.

"Nothing." Her voice came again. "No stars, no clouds, nothing."

Cid clenched his jaw. An hour earlier, on their way back from the investigation of the blackout event in the Sun Kingdom, Banks's team had been diverted from their return to Radiant Garden by a distress call that the Alliance had received from Traverse Town. It was the same set of incidents: worldwide loss of consciousness, no memory of what had happened, and now a darkness had settled over the world, blotting out the sky.

On either side of him, Merlin and Leon were both staring at the video feed also, both frowning. Merlin was stroking his beard, and Leon had his arms folded over his chest.

"Any injuries?" Leon asked into the communicator built into the control panel.

"A few bruises and sprains from the collapse, but nothing serious." Banks replied. "Everybody is accounted for and there hasn't been a panic yet, though it isn't exactly nice sitting on our hands here. What the fuck is going on, sir?"

"Damned if I know." Cid grunted.

Merlin piped up, "And no one remembers how or why they suddenly fainted?"

Banks turned and walked toward the tavern in the First District, Beverly's bar; Cid grimaced. There was a large crowd gathered there, nursing drinks and looking puzzled as they tried to comprehend what had just happened to them.

"Nobody that I've talked to." Banks said. "Beverly is looking through her security camera feed now, but it doesn't look promising."

She was maneuvering through the people and navigating toward the back room, where the bar's office was. Slipping into the office, Banks's camera showed the cluttered interior of the room, along with Beverly standing over the rickety metal desk, leaning over her computer to access the video files. Cid was relieved to see that she was okay, aside from a rising bruise on her forehead and a hastily bandaged cut on her forearm: probably from collapsing behind the bar and landing on broken glass.

Beverly looked up as Banks entered, her gaze shifting slightly to look directly into the camera on Banks's headset. "It's completely fried."

"What?" Banks got closer. "Define fried."

She circled around to look at the computer, and Cid and the others got a good look at the video feed. It was completely static, save for a few blips of jagged black that would ripple across the screen.

"Well shit." Banks muttered.

"There's something else." Beverly remarked, again looking at Banks and then directly into the camera. "Who am I talking to—"

"Radiant Garden recon base." Banks answered curtly. "What something else?"

Beverly blinked and shifted. "The video is useless, but the audio picked up on something…strange. Listen."

She tugged the headphone cord out of the jack on the computer and turned up the volume. As the static played across the screen, the audio kicked in.

A low, guttural groan was clawing out of the speakers. It was inorganic and feral, and on either side of Cid, Leon and Merlin stiffened. Cid narrowed his eyes, recognizing that noise as the same one that had come from the missing satellite feed. The groan ballooned across the air of the underground chamber, and the other soldiers working at their stations glanced up.

"What the—" Banks started.

She fell silent as the groan abruptly shot up several octaves. Like nails on a chalkboard, the noise screeched out of the feed and everyone flinched. Cid felt Leon glance at him, but Cid continued to stare at the main monitor. The static on the screen rippled to blackness as the screech bluntly ended.

On the screen, Beverly looked wide eyed to Banks. "What was that?"

Banks hesitated before asking, "Sir?"

Cid straightened, "I'm coming to Traverse Town to investigate this myself."

He moved away from the panel, and Leon took his place, asking Banks and Beverly additional questions. Merlin followed after Cid.

"It's getting closer." The old sorcerer chimed.

"First the satellite on the perimeter goes missing, then the Sun Kingdom on the outer edge of the Alliance, and now Traverse Town…" Cid snorted ruefully as they both left the chamber. "Whatever this thing is, it's moving. These aren't isolated incidents anymore. It's moving closer to the heart of the Alliance."

And they still had no idea what 'it' even was.

**..:-X-:..**

**142 – First Fight**

Tabaeus opened the door to leave Merlin's house just as Jake was lifting his hand to knock. She started slightly in surprise, but Jake had known that she was there, and he reacted immediately, lowering his hand from knocking and instead pointing directly at her.

"You never called me." He said plainly. "You freaked me out, and you basically shoved me out the door, and you said that you'd call after you calmed down, but you didn't."

Tabaeus winced, her expression guilty. "I know…I'm sorry."

"No." Jake waved his pointing finger. "I was worried about you, but I couldn't call you myself, because you flip out every time I try to show you concern. I'm not good at playing distant, Tabaeus, and when you freak out, I freak out. So…you don't get to be angry with me for hunting you down to talk about this. I get to be angry that you blew me off. So this is me," He deliberately raised his voice, but his heart wasn't in it. "BEING ANGRY."

Tabaeus regarded him with a deadpan expression. "Are you done?"

"NO." Jake continued to talk loudly, but there was no heat behind it. "I'M GOING TO KEEP TALKING LIKE THIS, BECAUSE I'M UPSET WITH YOU. I MIGHT EVEN WAVE MY ARMS A LITTLE." He made a few vague gestures that would look furious from afar, but the movements were lackluster and his expression remained flat.

Tabaeus swallowed. "All right, come in. Let's talk."

Merlin's house was empty when Jake followed her inside. He had spent all day psyching himself for this. Anger wasn't in his nature; it was really hard for him to hold grudges and stay mad, especially at Tabaeus. But she couldn't keep bolting every time they took a step forward in their relationship. Or if she wanted to slow things down, she had to tell him that, not just run away and hope he'd forget about it.

He turned to face her as she closed the door, but neither of them spoke. She was waiting for him to start. He inhaled, paused, exhaled, and took another breath to start.

"I'm awesome." He said angrily. "Maybe not Leonhart Awesome, but I'm a catch, okay?" His shoulders slumped. "But I can't keep trying to prove myself to you, Tabs. Either you want to be with me by now or you don't."

Her eyes widened, "Of course I want to be with you—"

"News to me." Jake warbled. "Every time we start to get closer, or we start to move into more intimate territory, you flip out and push me away. I just want to know why." She looked defensive, but he continued. "You're fighting in a war against Darkness. You battle Heartless on the weekends, and you shoot guns and use knives and stuff…You're not telling me that this—" he gestured to the air between the two of them, "—scares you?"

"Of course it scares me." She said haughtily. "I'm good at fighting and guns and knives. I'm not good with feelings. And you are ALL feelings, Jake. And that's great, that's awesome, really, but the last time I let myself get close to someone—"

"—was in Stasis, right?" Jake cut in.

"—it didn't end well." She spoke over him.

Silence hung thick in the room after that, and Tabaeus's resigned shrug confirmed it.

Jake wasn't a member of the Alliance, he wasn't a soldier; he was a civilian in Radiant Garden, the military epicenter of the Alliance. That meant he was more aware of Allied matters than civilians on other worlds, but there were certain matters that the Alliance kept very discreet. The Project Stasis incident was one of them; any and all information about the incident three years ago was on complete lockdown. The press had gotten a hold of some basic information, but the Alliance had provided little explanation. After the bombing of Allied headquarters three years ago, Tabaeus, Leon, Tifa, Sora, and Kairi had been comatose for roughly a week.

The bombing had been masterminded by a scientist who had been obsessed with the effect of darkness on the human heart. Apparently the five of them had been part of some wacko experiment of his as a side effect of the bombing. Jake wasn't sure of the details, but things had gotten hairy; something about them experiencing an alternate reality simulation while in their comas, some kind of shared hysteria. All he knew for sure was that before the bombing, Leon and Tifa had been casual friends, Sora had been elbow deep in the war effort, Kairi had been at the forefront of the Seven Princesses of Heart's efforts to sustain peace, and Tabaeus had been a new recruit to Leon's department.

After coming out of Stasis, Leon and Tifa were inseparable, Sora and Kairi had both been immediately relieved of duties and sent home to Destiny Islands, and Tabaeus had become Leon's right hand soldier. Jake drew a slow breath and realized she was staring at him. Why did she always look like she was waiting to be rejected? He grimaced.

"Do you trust me?" He asked carefully.

She blinked, her response slow, "Yes."

He slowly lifted his hands, cupping them around her shoulders. "Then talk to me. I'm not going anywhere. Don't shut me out. I trusted you with the Cinnamon Roll Story. Nothing you ever tell me could be worse than that."

She snorted and glanced at her feet before meeting his eyes again, her expression less burdened. "That's true."

"Hey." He folded his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. "We're okay."

She returned the embrace, saying lightly. "You're not very good at being angry."

"Well, you're not very good at being happy." He replied. "We balance each other out."

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"Nowhere, cage, chasm, bomb: do those words mean anything to you?"_


	49. Countdown

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Getting closer to the end! The countdown has begun. Enjoy!**

**..:-X-:..**

**143 – Four**

"Nowhere."

Aerith's eyes flew open as she awakened with a silent gasp. It felt as though an electric current passed through her spine at the sound of the voice. The plain ceiling of her hospital room stared flatly back at her. Her muscles throbbed and her joints ached, but she abruptly sat up in bed, out of breath and her vision sliding and out of focus. The window blinds rustled and the lights flickered in the lamps.

The voice…Aerith quickly looked around the room, but she was alone, except for Cloud, who was passed out on the small couch against the wall, looking like his vigil over her had finally sapped him. How long had she been unconscious? What day was it? What time was it? There were IVs poking into her arms and monitoring nodes attached to her skin. A clip on her finger relayed the constant beeping of her pulse on the beside heart monitor.

But she had heard someone, hadn't she? Aerith blinked several times, grimacing as a migraine ballooned through her skull. She lifted her hands to her temples to will it away. The voice hadn't been in the room. It had been in her head. It had echoed and resonated against the walls of her skull. She closed her eyes, trying to recall that sound. It had been soft like a whisper, but simultaneously it was roaring like a bear, intangible like smoke but with the impact of a sledge hammer.

"Cage."

Aerith lifted her face, eyes snapping open as the voice returned. She cried out in surprise when she found herself, not in bed in her hospital room, but in a stairwell. She looked down at herself; she was still wearing a hospital gown, but her arms were bleeding from where the IVs had been forcefully removed. How—How had she gotten here? A tremble shook her body, and Aerith turned to face the way she'd come. This was the hospital stairwell. She didn't remember walking here or leaving her room, not even getting out of bed.

The events before waking in the hospital returned to her: summoning the undercurrent, using the crystals, being overwhelmed, the backlash, the reaction, pain, the crack…Her eyes widened, and she involuntarily grabbed onto the banister to steady herself. She could hear her heart throbbing in her ears. _Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum…_

Her nerve endings were hypersensitive, and she was acutely aware of her surroundings. Everything felt…different. New. Strange. She had…she had done it. She had accessed the heart of Radiant Garden. She had faced it, in all of its enormity and complexity…and she had survived. She had seen the undercurrent, felt it, heard it, touched it. She had broken through the wall, pierced the veil, and passed the trial. She had witnessed Truth.

"Chasm."

Aerith spun around again at the sound of the voice, and her center of gravity shifted as she realized that she had moved again. No longer in the stairwell…She was standing on the roof of the hospital. The starry sky yawned overhead, and a whistle of night air raised gooseflesh across her bare arms. She gasped at the sudden change.

What was happening to her? Was she hallucinating? Had she really woken up or was this a coma dream? All of these theories…these impossible ideas…She had been having so many weird thoughts lately…Was any of this for real? Or not?

No…nonono, she had seen the Heart. She had seen Truth. She had passed the test and the undercurrent had opened itself up to her. It wasn't a collective of a thousand souls or a thousand minds or a thousand anything. It was one…one massive…entity. It was a stream of consciousness…enormous…unfathomable…A stream of…life…of green.

"A lifestream." She whispered, staring out across the Radiant Garden skyline.

She understood now. The undercurrent, this…this lifestream, was truth and eternity and life and death. _Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum_: her heart throbbed in her chest. She closed her eyes and listened to it. The heart of Radiant Garden was pure light, pure energy, pure force and fuel for the planet. That was why Darkness sought out Light. Light was just as dangerous as Darkness, because if that kind of power was used by corrupt hands, it would become a…

"Bomb."

Aerith opened her eyes again and found a young woman with wild, shock white hair staring at her, standing less than three feet in front of her on the rooftop. Aerith froze. The woman's pale blue eyes stared directly back into Aerith's green ones. Her eyes seemed to cut through into Aerith's very core, her pupils shrunken to pinpricks in the center of her irises and unblinking. She was the voice; Aerith knew it. She knew it like she knew this woman…inexplicably…somehow. They had met before…

"Who are you?" Aerith asked shakily.

The woman continued to stare unsettlingly at her, but she began to open her mouth to answer. Her jaw seemed to freeze for a moment, searching for words. Suddenly, her eyes widened impossibly and a scream tore itself from her throat, cutting across the night air like a knife. Aerith jumped away from her in shock, but the woman continued to scream.

"Aerith!" Cloud was shoving the rooftop door open, running toward her, security personnel and medics on his heels.

Lightheadedness swam through her then and her knees buckled out from under her. Cloud reached her in four long strides and caught her before she hit the concrete. He was muttering reassurances to her, but her eyes were glued on the screaming woman. Security quickly subdued the woman and the medics were immediately injecting her with tranquilizers.

The woman's screams faded as the drugs took effect, and her body went limp.

Aerith clung to Cloud as she stared, her heart hammering. _Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum_.

**..:-X-:..**

**144 – Three**

Leon was seeing red.

"You knew that this woman was loose, that she was dangerous, and you didn't think to let the Alliance know? To warn them? To warn us?" He snapped at Merlin, gesturing to himself and Yuffie, indicating the other members of the Restoration Committee who weren't present.

Merlin was unfazed by Leon's outburst. "She is not dangerous, Leon."

Yuffie was equally furious. "She kidnapped Aerith and took her to the roof. Aerith could have DIED! She had just woken up after being in a coma for TWO WEEKS, Merlin."

The three of them stood in the observation room of the psych ward of the hospital. After recovering from her shock, Aerith had been given a clean bill of health, astoundingly healed of whatever had put her in the coma to begin with, and, to Leon's knowledge, she was signing herself out of the hospital as soon as possible, against Cloud's arguments. The woman she had been found with turned out to be a missing person named Beth Marshall, whom Merlin and Cid had been working covertly to find, off Allied records.

Beth Marshall was currently in the adjacent room, visible through the observation window in the adjoining wall, giving Leon and the others a clear view of the woman. She was sitting up in bed, clicking through the channels of the in-room television at an alarming speed, too fast for most of the channels to make a proper noise before she was clicking onto the next.

"Where did she come from?" Leon asked, folding his arms. "Who is she? You said she escaped from an institution, after she was found from being missing for nearly 20 years."

Merlin watched the woman thoughtfully. "She hasn't aged a day since she disappeared."

Yuffie exchanged an incredulous look with Leon, stepping toward Merlin. "What is she?"

Merlin huffed and looked at them both. "She is a girl who has been through more than either of you combined."

Both Leon and Yuffie narrowed their eyes; that was hard to believe.

"What has she been through?" Yuffie challenged.

Merlin adjusted his spectacles. "I'm still working on interviewing her, but whatever it was, it has so traumatized her that her entire soul has been altered."

"So she's nuts?" Yuffie turned toward the glass, staring at the woman.

"No." Merlin countered. "She is…altered."

Leon clenched his jaw hard. "So say she went through Hell for 20 years—"

"There are more traumatizing places to be than Hell." Merlin replied quietly.

Leon glanced through the glass and pursed his lips. Just looking at the woman made him uneasy. Merlin was right about one thing: this girl had been through something, she had seen something, been exposed to something all those years, and it had…'altered' her. There was a broken soul behind those unsettling blue eyes, maybe damaged beyond repair. He could understand Merlin's desire to help her, but hiding it from the Alliance?

"Aerith said," Yuffie broke the silence, "That she only said four words the entire time. She started to say more, but she screamed her head off instead. Nowhere, cage, chasm, bomb: do those words mean anything to you?" She looked to Merlin.

Merlin sighed and slowly shook his head.

Leon rubbed his eyes and then ran a hand through his hair, looking away from Beth Marshall and back to Merlin. "She's still a danger to herself, if not others."

"She has been assigned to my care." Merlin gave Leon an even look. "She will be staying here until she can be properly evaluated, and we will go from there."

"I'm. Not. Dangerous." The breathy, halting voice penetrated the glass window.

The three of them turned in unison to see Beth Marshall staring at them from her seat on the bed. Leon's spine tingled. The glass was at least an inch thick and she was completely across the room from them; there was no way she could have heard them talking. What was more, the glass was one-way: they could see her, but she could only see her reflection like a mirror.

How was she staring directly at them?

"How is she—" Yuffie started, but her voice trailed away.

The woman tilted her head slowly to the side, those unnatural eyes staring.

"Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum." She whispered, her voice moving through the air and the glass like impossible smoke. "I can hear it. Your hearts are very loud. You'll find him Nowhere. She knows; she saw it. I was there…Light, the realm of light…locked away. They're all in cages. Tear open the sky; word like a ravine…Ravine-ravine-ravine…"

Merlin took a step toward the glass. "Tell us more, Beth. Please, let us help you."

Beth fidgeted with the television remote, averting her eyes and muttering. "Darkness has no cage. Put everybody to sleep."

"She's out of her mind." Yuffie exhaled, "Leon, tell him—"

"I'm. Not. Crazy." Beth's head snapped back up, her eyes hot and glaring.

Instantaneously, the glass of the window cracked. One long crack forked down from the top pane, slicing all the way to the bottom of the window. The three of them jumped back. Almost immediately, Beth seemed to lose interest in them, returning to her game of clicking through the channels. Leon released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

Beth Marshall was dangerous, and he wanted to know why.

**..:-X-:..**

**145 – Two**

"You mentioned a 'vibe' in your report." Tifa asked, eyes staring upward at the dark ceiling of the inner chamber of the old castle ruins. "Can you describe it?"

This was the room where Aerith had had her experiment go wrong. This was where she'd been injured, nearly killed, and where, since waking up, she had sworn she had heard Beth Marshall's voice. The raised control panel area was wearing new scorch marks on its floors, but the gaping hole where the Heart of Radiant Garden had opened remained, still sealed.

Climbing the steps behind her, Major Valerie Banks huffed. "Just felt creepy as fuck, ma'am. Gooseflesh and the hairs on my neck standing up…that feeling like I had just swallowed an ice cube or something."

Tifa squinted, crossing to the middle of the floor where the scorch marks were the most prevalent. "I think Aerith was standing here when the reaction happened."

She squatted down and prodded at the blackened floor with her fingertips.

"You visited both sites of the worldwide blackouts. Did they feel the same?" She asked, back turned toward the soldier.

"Hardly. People of the Sun Kingdom didn't know what the Hell was going on. They were panicking and trying to scrounge up old protection spells…I talked to Rapunzel and her…and Eugene…Flynn, shit whatever his name is…Rapunzel's sidekick guy. They gave the same description of events as civilians did at Traverse Town. The difference was that people in Traverse Town are pretty used to weird shit. They adjusted pretty quickly after the blackout."

Tifa frowned. They still didn't know what had caused the two worlds, which were completely unrelated and had very little in common, to lose collective consciousness and power. Sunlight still hadn't returned to the Sun Kingdom, and, though Traverse Town was in perpetual night time, some foreign darkness was blocking out the stars from view. The Alliance had been running the tests: there was simply no explanation for it. It wasn't magic, it wasn't poison, it wasn't some mass hysteria…

With a sigh, Tifa stood again and put her hands on her hips, facing Banks. Beth Marshall was in custody currently, but everyone who went near the woman came away feeling uneasy and unsafe. Merlin was convinced, for some inexplicable reason, that the woman was significant to the blackout events. The Sun Kingdom was one of the farthest worlds in the Allied perimeter, but Traverse Town was much, MUCH closer. She didn't want to get caught off-guard when the next world experienced the phenomenon.

"What am I doing here, ma'am?" Banks asked bluntly.

"You've got a keen eye, Major, and I've been staring at this room for days." Tifa glanced at her. "I think a fresh set of eyes might dig up something new."

Banks regarded her flatly and looked close to arguing, but, with a full body shrug, she stepped closer to the reaction epicenter to look around. As she did so, Tifa backed away to give her space, mulling over those four nonsensical words.

Nowhere…Aerith had been developing a secondary theory about the existence of worlds that were taken by Heartless. She had theorized that a shadow of the world continued after the original world fell, like a human spawned a Nobody or something along those lines. Was 'nowhere' a place? Was it a metaphor for being too far away to be considered a place?

Cage…Along with her other mutterings about light and darkness, Beth Marshall had rambled about light being in a cage. Tifa had no idea where to start decoding that.

Chasm was a word like 'ravine,' which the young woman kept repeating in her madness. Somehow 'ravine' seemed to always come up after the woman talked about tearing open the sky. You couldn't have a ravine or a chasm in the sky. Maybe she meant a tear through the fabric of the impassable atmospheric walls?

Bomb. That just never led to anything good.

Banks straightened from where she'd been looking at the luminescent blue crystals that had sprung into existence around the base of the gaping hole in the wall. Tifa shelved her musings and looked to Banks, raising an expectant eyebrow.

The major lifted her shoulders. "I doubt I got much more out of this place than you did. The scorch marks look like they hit her pretty hard, the way they fan out around where the impact hit. It's almost like the energy flowed out like water.

Tifa narrowed one eye, "Out? From the crystal she was holding?"

Banks looked at her, confused. "No, from—" She gestured to the hole in the wall.

Tifa followed her pointing and then traced her eyes back to the scorch marks. She tilted her head and stepped around the marks, putting herself between the impact point and the sealed Heart of Radiant Garden. She had thought that the reaction had exploded out of the crystal, ricocheting off the crack in the floor that reached into the bowels of the castle. But…Banks was right, the scorch marks hadn't originated from Aerith's point; they had come from…

She looked back to the sealed Heart again. "It lashed out at her. You think the Heart attacked her? But it's sealed, it's—"

"Caged?" Banks lifted both eyebrows. "It was at least a few hours before someone found her unconscious here. Who knows what happened between the accident and then?"

Tifa glanced down at the crystal growths again. Was the Heart of Radiant Garden caged?

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _"Let me make you better."_


	50. Two Lonely Monsters

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Writing this chapter was…difficult. Several sections of it went through edits and overhauls to try and get the atmosphere and the characterization just right. I hope you all enjoy the result!**

**..:-X-:..**

**146 – One**

Since coming home from the hospital, Aerith had hardly said a word. Once they returned to their apartment, she had lethargically climbed into bed, curled up with her cat Piper, and remained there, staring out of the open window. She lukewarmly assured Cloud that she was fine whenever he asked, and a slow blink of her eyes was a despondent 'no' when he asked if she needed anything.

Cloud could have dismissed that as fatigue—she had been through a lot in such a short while, she was finally getting some downtime—but her eyes were open, and she looked to have no intention of dozing off. If anything, it looked like her mind was going a mile a minute behind her eyes. Unsure what to do, he had left her to her thoughts in the bedroom while he took up station in the living room, working on this or that or anything to keep his hands busy.

When his efforts to leave her alone failed, he found himself standing in the doorway, looking at her, feeling perplexed and worried. He didn't know how to proceed; Aerith had always been so straight forward. HE was usually the one who buried his thoughts and feelings. She was being evasive, and it was bewildering.

He couldn't continue to stand in the doorway like a creep, though, and he awkwardly stepped into the room, glancing around for some distraction. He crossed over to her side of the bed, stood there for a beat, and then slowly sat down on the edge of the mattress near her legs. She shifted her legs back to give him more room, but otherwise she didn't react. Well, she hadn't kicked him out. That had to be a positive.

"She's me." It came out in a hoarse whisper.

Cloud involuntarily leaned toward her a little, having barely caught her words. "Who?"

"She saw it too." Aerith continued, eyes on the window. "She knew me, and I recognized her. I had never seen her before, Cloud, but she was…familiar."

He grimaced. Of course this was about her encounter with Beth Marshall. The psychotic woman had almost done Kingdom Hearts only knew what to Aerith before he and security got there. The woman was unsettling; she wasn't right in the head. Why would Aerith say…

"She is my future." Aerith murmured. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow…but eventually, am I going to be like that?"

"No." Cloud immediately assured her, reaching out and placing one hand on her hip. "Beth Marshall is a very sick woman. We don't know what she's gone through. Why would you even think that?"

"She saw the Heart." Aerith's eyes finally moved, shifting from the window to meet Cloud's gaze. "She was…exposed to it. She knows the Heart more than my year's worth of research. I barely got a glimpse compared to what she's seen. Look what it's done to her."

"Did she tell you that?" Cloud asked. "Before she started screaming—"

"No." Aerith loosed her arms, and an aggravated Piper crawled out, hopping to the floor. "It's complicated to explain, but her eyes…She is what happens when you stare at the Heart too long, when you're around it too long, when you're…" She made a vague gesture and then lifted a hand to her lips to keep her composure. "She's become a monster."

"You aren't a monster." Cloud stated matter-of-factly. "And you're never going to become one."

"You don't know that." Aerith rolled onto her back and then sat up, hugging her knees and looking at him. "Everything I've done over this past year…The research, the experiments, the secrets…I kept secrets, not just from you, but from the Restoration Committee, from the Alliance…in pursuit of this…this ludicrous idea that I could—"

She cut off, but Cloud looked to her encouragingly. "Could what?"

Aerith studied her kneecaps for a long moment. "It doesn't matter. I'm done. I'm done with the crystals and the research and the lifestream and the fucking Heart of the world…" Her voice cracked at the rare swear word, and she lowered her face to her knees, shoulders trembling.

Hearing that should have made Cloud relax. It had been a nightmare: watching her throw herself into this danger. Merlin, the most powerful wizard in Radiant Garden, had avoided the topic and actively discouraged Aerith from pursuing it. She had nearly gotten herself killed through it all, and the very topic of her research had almost driven a wedge between the two of them. But he didn't feel relaxed. She was in pain. This was Aerith as he had never seen her before: guilty, angry with herself, helpless, and defeated. She was scared.

Unable to stand seeing her like that, Cloud moved closer and put his arms around her, gently pulling her to his chest. She came forward with no resistance and put her arms around his neck. She wasn't crying, her eyes were dry, but she was still shaking.

"You were right." She mumbled. "I should have stopped a long time ago."

Cloud grimaced. "No…I wasn't right." He rubbed her back in small circles. "You said it yourself: you looked into the Heart of Radiant Garden itself and survived. You passed the test and you saw…Truth was what you called it. No one else in recorded history has done that. You communicated with the…" What was her word? "…lifestream of Radiant Garden. You commanded it. You bent it to your will."

"No one should have that power." She said, glancing down at the state of her hands, which were still healing from the burns that she had sustained from the crystals.

"Then don't use it." He shrugged. "Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to do shit with it. Everything you do is your choice. If something doesn't feel right, you don't have to do it. It's just…a matter of will power."

Aerith quieted after that, and they stayed like that for a while.

The irony of his words wasn't lost on Cloud. Choice was everything. He had made all the choices that put him where he was now, that had put him through the Hell that he had endured over the years, and that had caused him so much agony. Hades, Sephiroth, how utterly alone he was for so many years because pride and shame wouldn't allow him to rejoin the Restoration Committee.

Looking back, he had been an idiot, and everyone had seen that. Despite his efforts to hide away, everyone had seen right through him. Everyone had tried to bring him into the fold, no matter how many times he pushed away. Aerith had been at the forefront of that effort. He owed her everything. He and Tifa were friends again because of her encouragement. He and Leon didn't hate each other anymore because of her mastermind plans. He was alive because of her inability to let him go off to rot alone in his obscurity.

Why wasn't this easy? Aerith was the most important person in his life. He would die for her and kill for her. Why couldn't he comfort her? Why wouldn't the words come to properly alleviate this pain she was feeling? Leon made it always look so infuriatingly easy with Tifa, and vice versa. Those two freaks, who had tripped and fallen into a friendship that turned into a marriage and, geez, parenthood: when Tifa had had such unconquerable trust issues and Leon had had the emotional capacity of a toaster…But somehow none of that had mattered.

Cloud had been in love with Aerith for years, but he had been so ashamed of his deal with Hades and terrified of involving her in his past with Sephiroth. Leon and Tifa had met, fallen in love, gotten married, and had a kid before Cloud Strife could even fully admit to the woman he loved that he loved her. How pathetic was that?

"I don't blame you for dealing with Hades." Aerith said softly, as though reading his mind.

Cloud tensed at that.

She lifted her face from her knees and met his eyes. "I don't blame you for what happened with Sephiroth, or this darkness that you think you carry around."

His throat ran dry and he had to look away from her briefly.

"Stop." He said lowly.

"I just want you to know that." She went on. "We've all done things that—"

"No, just stop." Cloud stood from the bed, taking a few steps away from her.

Aerith looked confused, and Cloud ran both hands down his face, before running them back up through his hair and knitting his fingers together at the back of his head, looking at her.

"I have to be the one to comfort you sometimes." He stated.

At her perplexed look, he took two deep breaths and continued.

"That's…that's how this works. If something happens to me, you make me feel better. If something happens to you, I make you feel better. That's—" He made a cyclical gesture at the air between them. "I'm…I'm over my crap. Hades, Sephiroth, it's in the past. I'm…I'm better. You made me better. You and…and Tifa and Merlin and Yuffie and Cid and even Leon. I was…I was a wreck, and you brought me back to life. It's…It's my turn." He finished awkwardly.

Aerith pursed her lips, her chin dimpling as emotion clouded her eyes. "Your turn to what?"

"Be…" More vague gestures at the air between them. "…the not-wreck. I have been a shit boyfriend these past…months." He dropped his hands to his sides in frustration. "You have been alone in all of this…Everything you've done this past year, I wasn't there for you. I couldn't be there for you…because I'm stupid."

She snorted ruefully at that. "I didn't want to drag you into it."

"You shouldn't have had to 'drag' me anywhere. That's the whole point." He countered. "I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to support you. I wanted to be there for you like you have always been there for me. But when the time came, I wasn't. You don't get to make me feel better for that. This isn't about me. I'm better. You made me better."

Impulsively, he crossed back over to her and knelt down so that they were at eye level, and he gently took her bruised and ginger hands as gently as he could.

"So, now it's my turn." He said quietly.

She was hurting. Not just from these burns and bruises and not just from her encounter with Beth Marshall and confronting the Heart of Radiant Garden. Everything that she had been through this past year had hit her hard. And she had endured it all alone, because he had been too proud and cowardly to overcome his own demons to be there for her. No more. Never again.

Cloud lifted her hand and gently pressed his lips to the base of her wrist, where the bruises were the least prominent. Drawing a slow breath, he lifted his eyes back to hers.

"Let me make you better."

Aerith was staring at him in confused surprise. A hint of a smile for the first time in weeks tugged at the corners of her lips. She dropped her eyes to where his hand was holding hers palm up. She turned her hand over and rubbed her thumb against the side of his hand. Pursing her lips, she inhaled deeply and met his gaze again, moisture making her eyes glassy.

"Thank you, Cloud."

As she said it, she smiled further until she almost looked happy, but it was forced. He could see it. She was trying so hard to look okay, to convince him that she was all right. Maybe she was feeling better, maybe his attempt to comfort her was a temporary fix. That wasn't good enough. He couldn't be a temporary fix, someone to make her feel better in the moment and no longer. He wanted…permanence.

He wanted to see her every day, see her smile every day, hear her laughter every day, and just…be with her every day. He wanted to be someone that she could trust entirely, not just with her secrets and her dreams, but with her fears and her doubts. He wanted her bad with her good, the weak parts of her along with her strength, and all of her despair and rage that came with her happiness and love. He didn't want the mask, the façade of always being okay when she wasn't.

He wanted all of her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

He had been staring at her soundlessly.

Cloud paused, looked from one of her eyes to the other, but his default response failed to come. Instead, he mumbled. "No."

Aerith blinked, "What?"

"I mean, not yet." He straightened, realization clicking into place.

This was it. This was the opportune moment. This was…this was the perfect moment.

"But I will be—" He paused and inwardly cursed.

He didn't have the ring with him. Where the blazes was it?

"—if you…if you help me—" He glanced around, trying to remember where he'd put it.

Aerith looked bewildered. "You just said you didn't want my help—"

"What? No! Nonono, I need your—I need you. Always. Constantly." Cloud assured, looking at her. "But I…" He feebly patted his pockets, but the little black box wasn't there. "I'm not doing this right."

"Doing…what?" Aerith squinted one eye at him.

Cloud stopped his frantic movements, looking at her.

Damn it all.

"Will you marry me?" He blurted.

Both of Aerith's eyes flew open wide in shock.

"I've been trying…but there was never a…and then with everything…" He babbled, standing and resisting the urge to start pacing. "I got a ring. I swear I did, but it's…disappeared."

He looked at her helplessly.

"Yes."

Cloud's eyes widened this time. "Yes?"

Aerith lifted both hands, covering the lower half of her face, but then abruptly lowered them again, bobbing her head. "Yes, Cloud Strife, I will marry you."

All of the air left Cloud's lungs at that statement, and Aerith stood from the bed, closing the gap between them in two strides and putting her arms around his neck. He involuntarily moved his arms around her back and met her halfway with a kiss. He tilted his head, and she mimicked him. He pulled her closer as the kiss deepened.

The full gravity of that 'yes' hit him in that moment. Yes. She had said yes. She wanted this. It was her choice, and she had chosen him. After everything, she still said yes. He tipped his head forward as the kiss drew to a close, touching his forehead to hers.

"I love you." He mumbled, eyes closed. "So much."

He heard her smile through an exhale.

"I love you too." Her hands moved from his shoulders to either side of his neck, coaxing him to open his eyes and look at her. "I'm yours."

His chest nearly burst, and he looked fiercely back at her.

"And I'm yours. Forever."

Aerith smiled and kissed him again.

There would be no more talk of monsters tonight.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _A shadow had fallen over Radiant Garden._


	51. Blackout

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Not much foreword on this chapter. Enjoy.**

**..:-X-:..**

**147 – Zero**

Cloud awoke to rain falling on him and the sound of a fire alarm droning through his head. For the first, sluggish moment, his limbs felt heavy and his brain was fuzzy. He opened his eyes to see a horizontal view of Cid's body shop floor, where he'd landed after…after what? Passing out? With a frown, he tested his limbs, found them responsive, and managed to lever himself up onto his knees, looking around.

The 'rain' was actually the sprinkler system, which had been activated by the fire that had caught onto some flammable material when a welding torch had been dropped. The welder, along with a handful of other people, was also lying on the floor, just like Cloud had been, as though they had all just…fallen unconscious simultaneously.

The fire alarm was the only sound in the garage, and Cloud uncomfortably got to his feet, maneuvering toward the exit. He turned off the welding torch and hastily doused the fire before moving on. He passed by the office, where he could see Cid doubled over at his desk, also unconscious. A quick touch to his neck found an even pulse, but he was unresponsive. With the disorientation quickly diminishing, Cloud's stomach began to twist into knots as he looked out the window.

A shadow had fallen over Radiant Garden.

"Shit." He cursed, shoving through the front door and out onto the street.

Bodies littered the sidewalks, slumped in chairs, leaned against walls where they'd fallen. His heart shot into his throat and pounded his pulse through his brain. This was it. It was happening. Time had caught up to what he had seen with Agent Mike.

As soon as that thought slid into place, Cloud turned on his heel and sprinted for the main sect of town. He passed several civilians, none of which looked physically harmed beyond their state of unconsciousness, and finally reached the square, not running into another awake person.

"Stop…You can't!" A voice suddenly reached him from a few blocks away. Agent Mike's voice.

"She could be hurt." Another voice. "I have to help her—"

The second voice was…was him. He and Agent Mike were here, from the past. His head reeled, but the context of the situation overrode the vertigo of hearing his own voice outside of himself. All that he could think was: the Jeep is on fire, and Tifa and Mikayla are inside.

The bodies on either side of him began to stir as he turned onto the main street, and at the end of it he could see the green Jeep, t-boned against a white truck on the corner. Flames were eating at the passenger side of the vehicle. Mikayla was crying. The sound echoed.

Cloud bolted down the street, reaching the Jeep in seconds and instinctively throwing out an arm. "Blizzaga!"

The ice spell warped across the gap between his hand and the fire, swallowing the flames and locking them into stillness, like icicles. Steam rose from the engine of the Jeep and the scorched sides of the vehicles. Cloud barely slowed down, skidding into the fender of the Jeep to stop himself. He clawed at the driver's side door, finding Tifa as he remembered, unconscious and slumped sideways against a deflated airbag. A bruise was rising on her jaw, but she was otherwise unharmed. He found her pulse regardless before immediately moving to the back door on the driver's side, where Mikayla's cries had tapered off.

More people around him were starting to stir, awaken, and rise, reaching out to each other and shakily trying to understand what had just happened. Cloud ignored them; the door was jammed, so he got a grip on the handle and violently wrenched it forward. The door latch was torn from the mechanism and hung uselessly there. Shoving the door open, Cloud leaned inside.

Mikayla was whimpering and making distressed noises in her car seat. The fire had broached the interior of the vehicle, and horror swam through his chest to see that he'd been too late. The child had sustained some burns on her left arm, and her clothes were singed.

"Shit. Shit. Hey, hey, sweetie." Cloud tried to sound like he wasn't freaking out, reaching inside and undoing the belts on the car seat. "It's okay. You're okay. Oh God. Here we go."

She had gone into shock, and the sight of the burns and bleeding, although minor, on her tiny arm, was almost too much for him to handle. He held a hand over the wound.

"Curaga." He quickly cast the healing spell.

Mikayla's crying returned as the unfamiliar sensation of a healing spell replaced the pain. Tifa was suddenly animated, going from the sluggish rousing to bolt upright. Someone else was there though, consoling her as she fought disorientation: Rinoa.

"Cloud's got her." Rinoa was saying. "She's—"

Cloud gently looked at Mikayla's arm as the Cure spell faded and more panic lanced through him. He carefully lifted her out of the car seat. Mikayla cried, but it was more out of fear than pain. Acknowledging that difference hardly made it easier.

"Cloud—" Tifa was staggering out of the driver's seat. "Mikayla—"

"She's alive. She's okay…We need to get her to a hospital." Cloud stammered.

Tifa's face was red and chaste tears were pouring down her face from fear and panic as she reached for her daughter. Rinoa looked bewildered from her own waking and situation. Cloud touched her elbow.

"Find the others. Keep everybody calm and make sure no one's hurt." He instructed.

Rinoa nodded, darting toward the Borough to Merlin's house.

Cloud made sure Tifa was steady and let her take her daughter back as they hastily made their way to the hospital a few blocks away.

**..:-X-:..**

**148 – Zero**

"Yuffie. Wake up." A hand was shaking her shoulder.

Yuffie groaned from where she was lying on the floor, having fallen out of her chair when she passed out. Why had she passed out? She rolled sorely onto her back and found herself looking up at Merlin. The old wizard was kneeling between her and where Aerith was in a similar state a few feet away, shaking both of their shoulders with a hand each.

"Mph." She grunted, sitting up on her elbows. "Wha'happened?"

Merlin frowned, glancing toward the window, "I'm not sure. The sky has gone dark, but it's not an eclipse. As far as I can tell, everyone in Radiant Garden has collapsed."

"Huh?" She got to her feet, moving shakily toward the window and finding his words true. "How is that possible?"

Aerith was stirring, and Yuffie turned back, seeing that Jake Alms was also in the house, having collapsed onto the couch and obscured from view. He was waking on his own. As Merlin coaxed Aerith back to awareness, Yuffie squinted at the window again, rubbing her shoulder.

Outside, it looked like late evening, only with no directional indicator of where the sun should have been. It wasn't like the sun was behind any clouds or that it was setting. It was like it had been simply dimmed. You couldn't dim the sun! Was this what had happened in the Sun Kingdom and Traverse Town? Before she could vocalize her thought, however, the front door of the house blew inward and Rinoa's form barreled inside.

"Is everybody okay?" The woman looked as far from dazed and confused as you could get; in fact, she looked panicked.

"Everyone here is all right. What's wrong, child?" Merlin helped Aerith to her feet.

"The square…" Rinoa lifted her hands, "Everyone is down. They're waking up now, but people collapsed in front of moving vehicles and behind the wheel and around sharp objects. We have to get this organized before people panic."

"Like you are?" Yuffie touched Rinoa's shoulder to try and calm her down.

Aerith steadied herself. "The others…"

"Tifa was in an accident. With Mikayla." Rinoa was breathless. "Cloud's taking them to the hospital now, but I think they're okay."

"Cid? Leon?" Aerith prompted.

"Tabaeus?" Jake joined in, climbing off the couch, bewildered.

Rinoa lifted her hands, "I don't know. Nobody knows what's going on."

Noises were picking up outside: sounds of people panicking. The whole town was waking up scared and confused. That wasn't going to lead to anything good.

"First things first." Aerith took charge. "Yuffie and Rinoa, go out there and quell the panic. Let them know that the Alliance is handling this. We're not under attack. We're not in danger. As long as we all keep our heads, we'll figure this out calmly." She turned, "I'm going to the hospital to make sure the administration is booting back up and ready to take in any casualties. Merlin, can you ensure that the security system hasn't been compromised? Work with Tron, he knows the system inside and out. Jake, get to the Alliance headquarters and find Leon. The phone lines are probably down. He needs to know about Tifa and Mikayla."

Jake was out the back door a second after Aerith stopped speaking. Rinoa and Yuffie exchanged glances and both moved out as well.

"What happened to Tifa and Mikayla? Why the hospital?" Yuffie asked.

"They were in the Jeep when Tifa passed out. There was fire…Cloud handled it, but—" Rinoa lifted a hand to her mouth.

"Okay." Yuffie snapped off. "Let's get back into the square. That's where the most people will be."

The darkness around Radiant Garden was eerie and raised gooseflesh across Yuffie's arms as they moved through town. They stopped briefly along the way to help anybody who was struggling to steady themselves, but if the passersby were otherwise all right, Yuffie and Rinoa continued to push into the main square.

A crowd of twenty or so people was already on their feet or kneeling beside their friends who were struggling, and Cid was standing on a low-rising brick wall, arms spread, trying to get everybody's attention.

"What's happening?" Someone was yelling.

"Why is it so dark?"

"Is it the Heartless? Are we being invaded?"

"Everybody calm down, damn." Cid spoke over them. "Just shut up and look around. We're all okay. A few bumps on the heads and some bruises. We ain't being bombed or attacked. Chill the Hell out."

"You can't ignore this!" Someone yelled. "Don't say nothing happened!"

"A'course something happened." Cid said. "We're gonna get to the bottom of it, but only if everybody keeps a level head and doesn't do anything stupid." He spotted Yuffie and Rinoa navigating toward him. "What's the news?"

"The Restoration Committee is on it." Yuffie gave him a thumb up.

"See?" Cid gestured to her, looking at the crowd. "No need to panic."

Nevertheless, the gooseflesh on Yuffie's arm didn't go away.

**..:-X-:..**

**149 – Zero**

"The security system around the Southern perimeter is down." Tabaeus stood in front of Commander Leonhart's computer, leaning over his desk to read the information on the monitor. "The scanner is showing increased levels of activity around the old castle ruins."

Leonhart was standing half in his office and half in the hallway, barking out orders to the rest of the department as they worked to re-establish order. She plucked a few keys on the keyboard and skimmed down the streaming data.

"A group of Kisaragi's soldiers are on patrol near the Great Maw. Should I send redirection orders to cover the Southern perimeter?" She asked.

Before he could answer, the radio transmitter on his desk crackled and Highwind's voice spoke. "Yuffie and Rinoa are keeping order in town. Nobody's lost their heads yet…Whatever that shadow is outside, it's short-circuited half the damn system down here." He cursed through a buzz of static. "We're gonna have to fuckin' reboot the whole system."

Tabaeus glanced to Leonhart, who lifted a hand and pressed his thumb and index finger against his eyes before giving a short nod. She snapped up the radio.

"This is Private McCallister. Roger that, sir."

"A'right, y'better get your shit together up there. Heartless might try to storm the town once the system goes down. It'll only be down for five minutes tops." Cid responded.

Commander Leonhart stepped back into his office and took up his Gunblade before barking at the general department floor. "Everybody arm up and head to the Southern perimeter. Cid is initiating a full scale reboot of the security system." He looked back. "McCallister, you're with me. We're going to the castle ruins to find out what the Hell is going on out there."

She gave a curt nod, hooked the radio onto her belt, and followed him out of the office. The entire headquarter building of the Alliance was in a state of emergency. Everyone was accounted for and unharmed, and as soon as the disorientation had faded, they had all snapped into combat mode, desperate to find an explanation for what had caused the worldwide loss of consciousness and the inexplicable darkness that had muted the daylight outside.

Tabaeus kept close to her superior officer's back as they crossed the department and opted to take the stairs down to the lobby rather than the elevator. They reached the first floor lobby and were halfway to the doors when Jake Alms' voice cried out.

"Leon!"

Both Tabaeus and Commander Leonhart drew up short as they spotted Jake bobbing and weaving through the bustle of soldiers in the lobby to reach them. He was pale.

"Something's happened." He was breathless.

"No shit." Leonhart replied, hand flexing around the Gunblade.

"No, not—" Jake waved a vague hand. "During the blackout, Tifa was behind the wheel. There was an accident." When Leonhart's spine straightened, Jake lifted both hands. "She's okay. Mikayla is…she's alive. Cloud is taking them both to the hospital. I don't know what exactly happened but—"

"Go." McCallister gestured to the doors.

Jake and Commander Leonhart looked at her, respectively in surprise and in seriousness.

She nodded to her superior officer. "I'll handle the ruins. I'll take a few soldiers from the Sorcery Department. I've got it covered. Go."

Wordlessly, Leon held her gaze for a moment before nodding and leaving the building.

Jake looked at her. "Are you sure you can handle—"

She cut him off with a raised hand, scanning the moving heads around her. "Roberts, Denner, Peters!"

The three soldiers from Merlin's Sorcery Department looked up at their names.

"With me." She snapped her fingers, "Jake, stay in town. Help Rinoa keep the calm."

He looked torn, "Tabs, it might not be safe out there—"

She gestured to the loaded holsters at her sides, "Exactly. I don't have time for this conversation." The words came out cold, and she tried to recover it with a small smile.

The three magic soldiers were moving to her side, and she gave Jake a parting look before leading the small squad through the front doors. The darkness was persisting throughout the mid-afternoon hour, with no sign of letting up. The cries of panic and fear had trailed away slightly as the hub of the Alliance got its feet back under it, and Tabaeus swiftly led the squad away from the main town and toward the old castle ruins.

"There's some kind of activity at the ruins." She rattled off to the three men. "Could be Heartless. Could be Nobodies. Could be something else. The security system will be down for around five minutes. We need to make sure that area is secure."

"Yes, ma'am." Roberts involuntarily replied.

They climbed into one of the all-terrain military vehicles, Tabaeus taking shotgun and Peters driving while the other two piled in the back. The truck spat gravel as it shot out of the transport garage and across the Great Maw toward the ruins.

The darkness yawned ahead of and all around them, raising the hairs on the back of Tabaeus's neck. She checked the clips in both of her guns, found them loaded, and exhaled, looking out toward the old castle with a growing sense of unease.

**..:-X-:..**

**Preview for next week:** _The countdown had begun._


	52. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. **

**Gah! Finally! The final chapter is here. This thing underwent about five different rewrites as I tried to get the atmosphere just right. This is what I wound up with. I dunno; I like it.**

**Reminder: this will be the stage-setter for the first story of my finale to the Alliance universe, titled Sentient Midnight.**

**Enjoy and thanks for reading!**

**..:-X-:..**

**150 – Epilogue**

Merlin sat alone in his study, reclined in his wingback chair behind the old, weathered desk. The surface, usually cluttered with books and an assortment of parchment, was clear that afternoon, except for one object. The silver, handheld recording device remained where he had set it hours earlier. The sleek silver body of the machine was an anachronism screaming out of place in his office, where time seemed to have stopped some fifty years ago or so.

Today, however, it was all that the wizened sorcerer would focus on. His fingertips were pressed together, forming a steeple against his chin as he stared at the device. He hadn't listened to it yet since recording it roughly a week ago, when the shadow first encompassed Radiant Garden. They were still no closer to answers about the event; perhaps the answers were locked away in these broken sentences that he had recorded.

Pensively, Merlin leaned forward and clicked the play button on the device. The reels inside the recorder began to turn, and Beth Marshall's hoarse, halting voice flitted out.

"_I…I think I want…I want to talk about it now."_

Merlin reclined again, staring at the blank wall of his study as he listened, his mind teleporting back to the session he had had with the woman, the day after the blackout occurred, when she had finally offered to tell her story.

"_I would love to hear it, Beth_. _I'm listening_." His own voice replied gently.

Outside, the perpetual night continued over Radiant Garden. From the ground, they could see no stars. There had been no sunrise or sunset in nearly a week. No moon. No clouds even. Just…blackness. It was so all-encompassing that it made the eyes hurt after staring at it for too long. There was no point to focus on; the sky was a solid wall of inky darkness. A void.

Cid stood in the cool air outside the Allied headquarter building. His watch told him that it was half past three in the afternoon, but it felt like the dead of night. It had felt like the dead of night for damn near a week now. He squinted up at the sky, placing a cigarette between his lips and tugging out his lighter.

Without looking down at it, he snapped the wheel on the lighter, deftly lifting it to light the end of the cigarette in his mouth. The flame caught, and he shook the fire out from the lighter, puffing lightly on the cigarette until it began to burn. He inhaled deeply, letting the smoke fill his lungs and the nicotine flood his veins.

Reaching up, he plucked the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled. The wind caught the smoke as he breathed it out, causing the gray wisps to be flung off and faded into nowhere. It was a nice distraction from the abysmal nothing hanging in the atmosphere. They had launched a half dozen scout ships into Radiant Garden's orbit to observe and analyze the phenomenon.

It wasn't a storm. It wasn't a spell. It wasn't a natural event in the atmosphere. By all measurements and readings by their equipment, the shadow wasn't even there. Major Banks had settled their fears in her scout flight that the stars were still there, the worlds were still out there, that they weren't alone, but they were isolated.

"_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum…It's…It's like a canyon, but not…Word like a ravine…Ravine-ravine-ravine…"_

"_Beth, stay with me."_

"…_I-I'm here…"_

Deep in the catacombs of the Alliance's archives, Rinoa and Yuffie dug through old files. Between Tifa checking out all of the Stasis materials and Aerith checking out all of Ansem's old notes, it was both easier and more difficult to navigate through the endless data.

"_I remember…blue. I remember screams. I remember…a cage."_

Yuffie grunted in frustration and stood, lazily kicking away the box of papers that she had been sorting through. She ran both hands through her hair and exchanged a look with Rinoa. Rinoa, for her part, knelt beside another box and resumed rummaging. Citizens of Radiant Garden, momentarily placated by the Alliance's assurances and the Restoration Committee's confidence in finding an answer, were beginning to panic again.

When the shadows fell over the Sun Kingdom, the night had remained incessantly. The sky was still black as pitch over Traverse Town as well. No stars. No moon. No sun. Nothing. The Alliance was helpless and had no answers. They had plenty of weapons, enough artillery to blow up Kingdom Hearts itself, but they had nothing to aim at. They couldn't very well light their own atmosphere on fire, as tempting as that had become over the past days of frustration.

Patience was wearing thin, Yuffie could feel it in the air. Not just her own patience, but Rinoa's, Leon's, Aerith's, the Allied Council's, everyone's. It felt like a rubber band that was being pulled tighter and tighter and tighter…When would they snap? What would happen when they did?

Yuffie nibbled on her lip and continued searching. The Allied archives had to have some document, some scrap of data or information that might shed some light on what was happening. The Alliance had the most comprehensive electronic library in the galaxy. Surely they would offer at least some insight into the shadows that had swallowed the sky.

"_You were in a cage?"_

"_No, not me. I could see it…She wanted…He stopped her."_

"_Who?"_

_Beth's voice cracked. "I can't…I can't. I can't. I can't!"_

Tifa stood over the crib as the pediatric nurse lifted the clear lid separating her from her daughter. For the past week, the clear incubator had been Mikayla's home. For the past week, neither Tifa nor Leon had been allowed to hold the five month old baby, not to touch her, not to be too close to her. They had been separated by glass, as the wounds on her tiny body had compromised her immune system, and the doctors had insisted on an isolated environment until she stabilized.

Now, the barrier was being removed.

Tifa wore the sterilized surgical scrubs and gloves, the mask and a hairnet, to make infection as minimal as possible. Her eyes burned and her throat clogged as the nurse offered her a small smile.

"You can pick her up now."

She had to be allowed permission to hold her own baby. Nearly choking on her tears, Tifa slowly reached down and gently, ever so gently, moved her hands under her daughter. Mikayla gurgled at the movement, but her eyes were open and staring up at Tifa's face, what little of it wasn't covered by the surgical mask.

"Hi. Hi, baby." Tifa cooed, tears breaking free from her eyes and beading against the top of the mask. "It's okay. Oh, Mikayla, it's okay, sweetie. Mommy's here. I'm right here."

Mikayla squirmed but didn't start fitting, and Tifa felt her heart break at the thick gauze dressing around the baby's shoulder, where the burns were. Where the burns had been.

Tifa held her daughter to her chest, humming softly and rocking side to side, still sobs wracking her body.

"I love you." She whispered, pinching her eyes closed. "I love you so much. So much." She pressed her lips to the baby's head, and only tasted the paper-cloth of the mask over her mouth.

"_I saw the boy…when he locked the door…So much heat…So messy…"_

"I love you. Daddy loves you too." Tifa murmured, tears of relief and pain and love carving their way down her face. "We both love you so much. We promise to never let anything bad happen to you ever again."

Mikayla had been admitted to the hospital after the accident, after Cloud used the healing spell to mend the burns on her arm. She had been in that room since then. Tifa had hardly left the room, and the past half hour had been the longest that Leon had been away also. There were no windows in the pediatric isolation room, which was just as well, as there was nothing to see besides the darkness that had claimed the sky.

Tifa held on tighter to her daughter, gently rubbing her back soothingly. Her sobs subsided as she felt Mikayla's heartbeat against her own chest, but the silent tears continued to pulse past her eyelashes against her will. She had never been so terrified in her life. She thought that she had known fear when it was her life on the line, when it was Leon on the hospital bed, but this…this was a level of terror that she had never known, and hoped to never feel again.

"Never again." She whispered.

Mikayla cooed, the tiny fist of her uninjured arm swatting at the air curiously. She wasn't in pain. She wasn't scared. She wasn't uncomfortable. Tifa pursed her lips and smiled, finding relief in that.

"_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum…It was so loud…It was all I could hear…"_

"_A heart beat?"_

"_I don't…yes."_

Tabaeus paced across the floor. The cavernous chamber hall of the castle ruins yawned around her. Her eyes kept being drawn to the gaping hole in the wall, where just a few years ago the Heart of Radiant Garden had been locked away. The scorch marks on the ground from Gainsborough's experiments remained; they were blackened and gouged deep into the stone.

A single crack cut deeper than the gouges, and it stretched deeper into the bowels of the castle than their technology could accurately measure. The other members of her squad continued to run their sweeps, monitoring as much of the castle as they could. The strange activity that had ballooned around the ruins at the time of the blackout had persisted consistently for the past several days. They were no closer to finding its point of origin.

Something about the energy permeating the space was causing their technology to behave erratically. Devices specifically designed to detect dark activity were flatlining, while other machines specifically designed to monitor dark activity were on the fritz, throwing out measurements that were impossible without anything less than Xehanort himself waltzing around.

She checked the clip in her gun for the third time in an hour. Finding it predictably fully loaded as ever, she flexed her jaw and slid the clip back into the gun.

"_I was there for…years…decades. It wasn't—Time was different there. I saw…"_

"_It's okay. You're safe here."_

Leon stared at the pediatric surgeon, his entire body numb. "Permanent scarring."

Dr. Marge Baum adjusted her hold on the clipboard in her hands. "Healing spells can be dangerous in any situation. Their use is restricted to life-threatening situations for a reason." She spoke gently, but her voice was so low and gruff that it sounded harsh. "They are expressly forbidden and strictly illegal for use on children under the age of eight."

Leon exhaled heavily. "Is she—" He cleared his throat and rephrased. "Will there be any adverse side effects? Will Mikayla be all right?"

Dr. Baum pursed her lips briefly. "There should be no long term effects on her health, but the scarred tissue on her right shoulder is irreversible. Children so young are still in such sensitive states of development, you understand. Forcing their bodies to heal at an accelerated rate…like Cloud Strife's healing spell did to Mikayla…"

He closed his eyes briefly. The idea of his daughter, his tiny, painfully vulnerable Mikayla, under those bandages, made him nauseas. He snapped his eyes open again, glaring at the doctor. "Will she be okay?"

"_Safe." A dry snort. "What do you know of safe? We're not safe. Keyblades like toothpicks…I saw the sky tear open and the flashing blue lights." Her voice rose in pitch with a tremor. "I saw it. I was there. I felt it."_

The surgeon was pensive. "She will bear the scars on her arm for the rest of her life, unless she chooses to have cosmetic surgery when she is of age. Other than that, she is strong, and the healing magic did mend all of the burn wounds. We'll continue to monitor her for several months, but she has a very high chance to live a completely normal life."

His bones nearly vanished in relief upon hearing that, and he ran both hands over his face once before half turning toward the room, looking through the glass window at his family on the other side.

"You should know," The doctor continued. "That the police are standing by to arrest Cloud until—"

"No." Leon glared at the surgeon. "I'm not pressing charges—God, no…He—" He glanced down the hallway and narrowed his eyes, staring back at the surgeon. "Nobody touches Cloud. He saved Mikayla's life. No." He said firmly.

"_He didn't see me. They never see me."_

"_Beth."_

"_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum."_

"_Beth, please keep speaking to me. Fight the madness."_

Aerith stepped into her shoes, mechanically tying the laces before straightening and smoothing her skirt. Tugging her purse up over her shoulder, she glanced toward the bedroom of the apartment that she shared with Cloud. He had hardly said a word since they both reunited after the blackout started.

She nibbled on the corner of her lip and walked over to the open bedroom door, peering inside. He had stopped throwing up in the adjoining bathroom and looked like he'd collapsed in bed. His back was facing her, but she knew he was awake. He had hardly slept.

"I'm going to the hospital to see Mikayla." She prompted. "And to see Tifa and Leon. I've…I'm going by their house to pick up some fresh clothes for them…They've hardly left the pediatric ward since…Are you sure that you don't want to come?"

A palpable silence passed for a beat.

"I scarred their daughter." His voice was low, hoarse. "I could have killed her."

Aerith grimaced. "You didn't know that would happen. They don't blame you. They're grateful that you saved her."

Cloud visibly flinched, his shoulder hunching toward his head, as though she'd thrown something at him. It pained her heart. Aerith drew a breath and crossed to the bed. She leaned over and put one hand on his side, giving his ribs a light squeeze as she knelt forward. She pressed her lips to the top of his shoulder.

"_I'm trying…but I can still hear them…"_

His eyes remained staring at the corner of the room, carefully averted from her own gaze. She could feel his bones trembling, though the muscle and skin over the bones hid it well. If she could have her way, Aerith would have crawled into bed and just held him until the trembling stopped; she wouldn't have to leave him while he was like this. But Tifa and Leon had been close to being zombies when she had left the hospital. The worried parents needed someone to order them to eat and sleep and shower, otherwise they would waste away keeping vigil over Mikayla.

"I'll come back as quick as I can." She murmured against his shoulder, and then she straightened, reluctantly moving toward the door. "Get some rest, okay? This isn't your fault."

"_It's like…being aware of everything all at once…All of time, all of space, all of everything is happening simultaneously…I saw you. I saw the Cetra. I saw the sky tear apart and the impassable walls fall. I saw Nowhere."_

Cloud heard the apartment door close and let his eyes fall shut. His stomach was still churning, but he had run out of anything to vomit. Only mortification remained, pushing through his veins instead of blood. He had felt that way since he had found out about Mikayla's condition.

Scarred. Permanently. Because of his Cure spell.

But he had saved her life, hadn't he? She had been burned, bleeding, and she was just a baby, there was no way to—But she was just a baby and now she was permanently scarred. She was forced to bear the evidence of his ignorance. He should have known, should have responded better to the situation, should have handled things differently.

He couldn't have stopped the blackout. He didn't know when it was happening or why it was happening. This matter didn't make him feel any less awful about it. He had had direct contact with a time traveler and had let her slip away. He should have forced her to answer him, to help him figure this out. He should have turned her over to the Alliance for questioning.

Instead, he had let Agent Mike go back to her home time, and now Tifa and Leon's daughter had been disfigured. Because of him. They would want nothing to do with him now. Tifa would banish him from their little family, as she had the right to. Leon would rescind whatever fragile friendship existed between them, as Cloud fully deserved. He might even take a swing at Cloud, and that was almost a relief, compared to the worse alternative of both Tifa and Leon simply turning cold on him.

Who was he kidding? Neither of those situations was preferable.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, immobilized in the apartment by his own horror and deprecation. "I'm so sorry."

"_I saw Chasm."_

"_The Chasm?" Merlin pressed, remembering the term from Leon's woebegone mission several months earlier. "The ship?"_

"_Ship…yes, yes it was a ship…THE Chasm."_

In the ruins of the old castle in Radiant Garden, the crack in the floor of the central chamber, where Aerith's experiments had gone so horribly awry, cut deep. Through the stone and the concrete, stretching down and down and down through the levels of the castle, the crack widened and narrowed, carving its way through the dungeon floors and the frozen foundation until it reached the cornerstone chamber. The single room at the very base of the castle had no lamps or candles or fires within it, but every corner of the room was illuminated by a soft blue glow. The veritable forest of crystal formations had swallowed the epicenter of the chamber, branching outward like fire frozen in a spell.

The crack carved through the concrete and into the crystal itself, though from the point of contact, it splintered into a dozen smaller veins that branched across the surface of the crystal in a web. A puff of blue-green smoke slipped out of the crack, like a soft exhale or a sigh. A pair of cold eyes watched the wispy smoke slip free from the crystal, and the eyes followed the smoke as it curled upward into the crack in the ceiling. The eyes closed. The countdown had begun.

"_I saw the cage…Light, the realm of light…locked away. Darkness has no cage. Put everybody to sleep…That's what happened."_

In the psychiatric ward of the Radiant Garden hospital, Beth Marshall stood by the barred window, staring up and out toward the endless black sky. They had stopped sedating her; she had stopped screaming and fighting them.

Sanity came in brief spurts, precious moments where her mind felt clear and she could form coherent thoughts. But it was like holding smoke with your bare hands: it didn't last long.

Her bones ached every time she looked at the sky. It was staring back at her; she could feel it. Paranoid returned afresh, stabbing through her mind like a knife, and she trembled, holding her arms around herself.

It was coming. She could hear it. She could feel it. It was coming. She closed her eyes and turned away, lifting her hands to cover her ears.

"Go away…Please…Make it stop…"

From the recesses of her mind, a cold, menacing voice drifted across her thoughts, giggling a single word back at her: No.

"_I saw the bomb." The word came out like a whimper._

"_What bomb?"_

"_Nowhere. Cage. Chasm. Bomb." She gasped. "It's coming."_

The blue flash ended, and the time agent found herself standing in the Great Maw, facing the town perimeter of Radiant Garden. As soon as the light faded, she choked on blood. The strength left her legs and she collapsed to her knees on the purple stone floor of the canyon.

"Agent Mike?" The voice in her earpiece jarred at her hearing. "Agent Mike, come in. Did you make it? Are you there?"

She straightened, wiping the blood from her mouth and studying herself. There were light burns and singes on her clothes, and nausea crawled through her torso, but otherwise she was in one piece.

"I made it." She grunted, climbing back to her feet. "I'm—" She glanced down at the device on her wrist.

It was fractured, and a nasty crack had rendered her reading screen almost useless. She was able to make out the date, confirming her destination.

"I'm here. A few weeks earlier than I aimed for, but I'm here." She replied, breathing heavily.

"Hey," His voice over her earpiece was suddenly gentle with concern. "Are you sure you can handle this? We both know what will happen if this—"

She narrowed her eyes, pulling her torn sleeve up, covering the old scars on her shoulder. "I'm fine, James. Have a little faith."

His response was a low snort, and she smirked, making her way across the Great Maw toward the town perimeter.

"_Please don't send me back there!" Beth's voice became hysterical._

"_Shh, it's all right, child. We aren't sending you anywhere."_

"_Find him! You'll find him Nowhere! She knows! I know she does!"_

"_Beth, calm down."_

_Sobbing broke across the recording._

"_I saw it…I saw it…I was there…" She choked on the words._

"_Where?" He pressed gently, but he had to know. "Where were you, Beth?"_

_A long, staticked silence waned as the recorder whirred on._

"_I was inside…I was with the Heart…Radiant Garden…"_

"_You were inside the Heart of Radiant Garden?"_

"_I can hear it…Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum…I can—please—this—I can't—PLEASE DON'T SEND ME BACK THERE!"_

Merlin reached forward, turning off the reply on the recording device. Beth Marshall had become incoherent after that, and the nurses had been forced to heavily sedate her and put her wrists and ankles in restraints in her bed. It had been disturbing to see the young woman in such a state.

He could remember seeing the clarity in her eyes for the bulk of the session. It wasn't until the end that she began to regress. She had been almost entirely composed until that point. He had been back to see her every afternoon since then, but she had been mute. She had offered no more words for him to consider, no more stories or attempts to explain her trauma. Her eyes, however, had remained clear.

Beth Marshall was finally awake, but her battle was far from over.

The old wizard removed his spectacles, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.

Was it possible? Was it possible for a human being to survive inside the Heart of a world? Had Beth Marshall truly been exposed to the raw power of the Heart of Radiant Garden for nearly 20 years? If so, how was she alive? How was her body intact?

How did she know about the Chasm?

What was Nowhere? Where was it?

And this talk of cages and bombs…It unsettled him.

Beth Marshall's incoherent babble that continued after he turned off the recorder echoed back through his head. '_Death will come. I heard the final words…I may not rise from this, but together we will rise from this_.'

Beyond Merlin's study, above the roof of his small house, stretching far from the skyline of Radiant Garden, the murky darkness continued to roll across the atmosphere of the world. The shadows pulsed through the boiling clouds, coating the sky like spilled ink and refusing all light to enter.

Silence pressed in from all sides as the darkness looked down on the world, and the Heart of Radiant Garden looked back up. An acknowledgement passed between them, a nod between the ancients, and the sentient midnight narrowed its gaze.

Soon, the cage doors would open.

Soon, the war would end.

**..:-X-:..**

**A/N:** There you have it, folks. The stage is set. I'm elbow-deep in the sequel now; I'm hoping to have the first chapter out by this time next week, if maybe a little later, depending on where the muse winds up. I'll post a teaser-esque thingy in a few days; sort of like how I did with _As the Sun Sets on Mushroom Clouds_.

Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with this oddball collection of stories.


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